


Spectacle of Death

by scarlet_eve



Category: Gundam Wing
Genre: Film Noir, Gen, alternative universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-06-04 21:32:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 14
Words: 31,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6676171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scarlet_eve/pseuds/scarlet_eve
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>[A/U] 1950s - Private Investigator Heero Yuy is asked to take on a case involving the death of a high profile millionaire. With ties to a local mafia family, a financially and morally bankrupt circus, and other nefarious deeds, Heero Yuy realizes that this case will be harder to crack than his usual jobs. At least until he meets a mysterious woman.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Friday  
6:23 am

Dorothy Catalonia-Bocharov stepped out of the backseat of her husband’s Mercedes-Benz, the heel of her shoe promptly sinking into the grass. The ground was soft and muddy because of the incessant rain. Even the car’s wheels were beginning to sink into the ground. Ahead of her, Bocharov’s Spectacular Show sprawled out over the fairgrounds, the tents sagging under the weight of the water. The show would probably be cancelled, unless the blasted rain let up. Dorothy pulled her coat around herself tighter, and lowered her hat’s brim to better keep the rain from her face and hair. She threw a look over her shoulder at the driver. 

“I should only be a moment.” 

A phone call had come an hour before, waking Dorothy from her sleep. The ringmaster told her over the phone in a shaky voice that they’d found her husband, Bartok Bocharov, dead in the big top. He gave no other details, and Dorothy had not asked. She told him not to call the police just yet, then dressed and woke her driver. 

And here she was, balancing on the toes of her shoes to keep her heels from sinking through the grass, walking towards the big top. The ringmaster and a few performers stood at the open tent flap, waiting for her. 

Dorothy slowed as she approached, staring down the ringmaster. He was badly bending his hat in his hands out of nervousness. She ignored him and the performers, and stepped through the tent flap. Lamps were lit inside the big top, and the rank smell of wet straw wafted up her nose. Dorothy held her gloved hand up to her nose to block the smell, filling her senses with leather instead. A spotlight in the middle of the tent was on, and as she approached, she could see her husband. 

He was hanging from the flyer’s bar with his knees, his arms outstretched over his head. From her vantage point, she could see that his legs were tied to the bar, to keep him from falling. There was a deep red gash in his neck, and the blood had dripped down onto the hay and dirt below, at least until his blood ceased to flow through his veins. His shirt had come untucked and the pasty white expanse of his belly was exposed to the glaring spotlight. 

Dorothy glanced at the ringmaster, who’d followed her into the tent. 

“Take him down and bury him somewhere. Don’t call the police,” she said. The ringmaster paled. 

“Are you sure? The police should know…” he began to say, but Dorothy shook her head. 

“I’ll take care of it,” she replied. Her eyes met the cold green and cold blue of a pair of siblings who worked on the circus - an acrobatic clown and a knife thrower, but their names escaped her. She gave them a curt nod and made her way back to the tent flap and stepped outside in the rain. She stood for a moment, taking in the smell of the rain and the wet earth, erasing the memory of wet straw from her olfactory memory. Without a backwards glance, she walked on her toes to keep her heels from sinking into the soft ground, reached her car and climbed back inside, signaling the driver to take her home. Before the view of the circus left the back window, Dorothy wiped a tear from her cheek. 

 

Friday  
10:30 am

Heero Yuy, private investigator, leaned forward on his desk, a cigarette dangling from his fingers. His head was throbbing in the worst way, and his vision refused to clear. It was a hangover of the worst kind, and while he might have stopped for a pint of whiskey on his way into work, he found his wallet empty. All that had been left in his coat pockets was a crushed pack of cigarettes and a few sheets of paper with names and addresses. Work had been slow lately, though he should have realized that it was partly his fault. Perhaps if he actually solved a case once in a while…

Just as he was about to drift to sleep, there was a heavy knocking on his office door. Heero sat up with a jerk and shook his head, trying to stop the spinning. “Come in!” he called, and took a drag from his cigarette. It was mostly ash by now, but there was still enough left to give his brain a little jump start. He straightened his button down shirt and ran a hand through his tangled, unruly hair. 

The door opened and a tall, blonde woman stepped inside. She wore a wide-brimmed hat that covered most of her face, and a long black coat. Both were wet from the rain still falling outside. Inside the overly warm office, she looked uncomfortable, and almost had that “drowned rat” look to her. But that was until she removed the hat and coat, hanging them up on the coat rack beside the door. Underneath the coat was a dark blue sheath dress, which appeared to be made of velvet, or something like it. The hem dropped to her knees, and the front was viciously low cut. Heero had to blink several times before remembering that he was supposed to be professional. The woman stepped up to the chair on the other side of the desk and sat down, her blue eyes leveling on Heero. 

“Can I help you?” Heero managed to say. Through he told himself he wouldn’t chain smoke, this woman had thrown him off balance. He reached inside his desk drawer and pulled out another cigarette and lit it with a match from a matchbook he’d lifted from some grody motel he’d once stayed at. Before the woman spoke, she snatched the cigarette from his fingers, took a long draw, then stuck the cigarette back between his fingers. He blinked at her. 

“My name is Dorothy Catalonia-Bocharov,” she said, “since you haven’t asked me yet.” Heero managed to pull himself together enough to draw a notebook in front of him and picked up a pencil. He jotted down her name at the top of the page. He stuck the cigarette in the corner of his mouth and met her eyes. 

“And what can I do for you, Miss Catalonia-Bocharov?” he asked. For a moment, he thought the woman was going to smile, but instead, her face crumpled a bit more, though to Heero, it almost looked contrived. 

“I need you to find the killer of my dearly departed husband,” she said, lightly touching her cheek with a gloved hand. Heero blinked. A gig and it wasn’t even noon! Heero nodded solemnly. 

“Have you called the police already?” Heero asked. Dorothy shook her head, a few loose strands of blonde hair brushing her cheeks and ears. 

“I’m afraid they’re not going to be able to do anything,” she said. “My husband has many business arrangements, and digging out those skeletons will only jeopardize my own safety.” She paused, her eyes still staring Heero down. He knew that most people who referred to “business arrangements” were dealing with the mafia. “I need someone who can be discreet.” 

Heero could be whatever she wanted him to be. He nodded. “Of course, Mrs. Catalonia-Bocharov,” he said. 

“Please, just call me Miss Dorothy,” she replied. 

“Uh, sure. Miss Dorothy. Can you give me the details of your husband’s murder?” She nodded, and from where, Heero couldn’t be sure, she drew out a handkerchief and began to recount the story of the big top at the circus, occasionally dabbing at her eyes with the little square of fabric. Heero listened, occasionally jotting down details on the notepad that he thought might be relevant later. Heero shuddered at her retelling of his body hanging from the big top, and the fact that the blood had eventually stopped dripping from the slice in his neck. She spoke at length about his various business deals that could get him in trouble, including ties with the Dioli family, the local chapter of the mafia in the city. 

She dabbed her eyes one more time and the handkerchief disappeared to whence it came. She rose and leaned forward over the desk, keeping her eyes locked with Heero’s. Her breasts were dangerously close to making an unscheduled appearance.

“Will you take the case?” she asked, her head tilted to the side. Heero nodded, afraid to say no. Besides, he needed the cash. A slow smile crossed Dorothy’s lips, and she pulled herself back up to her full height. She turned and stuffed her hand inside a pocket of her coat and drew out an envelope. It was thick and sealed. She dropped it on the desk in front of him. “Here’s a retainer. And a little extra for your promise of silence.” Heero hand smoothed the envelope, feeling the thick stack of bills inside. He didn’t dare open it until she left. 

“You have my discretion,” he said. “I’ll need your contact information as well.” Dorothy pulled a white card from her purse and handed it over. Her name was written in curling script at the top, along with her home and office phone numbers and an address. Heero had never seen a woman with business cards. 

“Thank you so much, Mr. Yuy,” she said, and leaned over his desk once more and pressed a kiss to his cheek. Heero’s stomach twisted, and he felt his face heat up. He sat still until Dorothy had taken her things and disappeared from his office, leaving behind the money, her business card, and the lingering smell of her flowery perfume.


	2. Chapter 2

Friday  
12:15 pm

The rain had finally stopped, but the clouds still hung low over the city, blocking out any trace of the sun. Puddles formed in every available location. Heero could only hope that the sun would come out soon and dry up all the water. It was nearly summer, after all, and he thought mother nature should be giving them a break from precipitation. 

He walked along a sidewalk, the envelope of cash stuffed into the inner pocket of his coat, and a new pack of cigarettes and a pint of whiskey in his outer pockets. The keys to his office jingled softly in another pocket. He was on his way to a friend’s place of work, an auto repair shop called American Wheels. Duo Maxwell, part-time mechanic and part-time schmoozer, worked there and occasionally would help Heero with cases. It kept him out of trouble, anyway. 

When Heero arrived, he found Duo leaning over the front of a ‘47 Ford Pilot, his long brown braid hanging down almost to his knees. The hood of the car was propped up, and Duo was digging around the innards, rhythmically tapping a wrench on a metal piece of the frame. “Maxwell!” Heero called out as he walked up the drive that led into the shop’s garages. Duo lifted his head and smiled. 

“Well if it isn’t Bad News Yuy,” Duo said, using the irritating nickname he’d given Heero when the latter had been released from the police force. Duo tossed the wrench on the ground and stepped away from the car. “It’s been a while. What brings you over here?” Heero pulled the bottle of whiskey from his pocket an inch, and a wide grin broke out on Duo’s face. “How lucky! My lunch just started. Come into my office.” 

Duo’s “office” was just the storage shed behind the shop. He’d put together some makeshift chairs and tables, where he could hang out in between jobs or during his real lunch time. Now though, the two were sitting at the table, passing the pint of whiskey between them while Heero told Duo the details of the case for Dorothy Catalonia-Bocharov. 

Duo made a face like something smelly was under his nose and leaned forward in his chair. 

“I don’t know if I trust this broad,” he said. “Her husband ends up dead, she doesn’t call the police and says she’ll take care of the body? Sounds pretty suspicious.” 

Heero shrugged. He pulled a cigarette from the pack in his pocket and lit it with a match from the book Duo left lying on the makeshift table.

“That’s not my business. She already paid- so I might as well put in the effort to find the killer, even if it was her,” he replied. Duo still pulled a slightly disgusted face. “He’s done business with the Diolis. More than likely, it was them that killed him.” 

Duo was about to respond when a horrible screeching and popping noise filled the air. Both jerked their heads towards the door of the shed, looking concerned. A moment later, a voice called out “MAXWELL!” Duo groaned, passed the bottle back to Heero, who capped it, and left the shed. Heero was close behind. 

They rounded the building to the front of the garage. A car, a ‘49 Crosley Hotshot, had been pulled into the driveway at a sharp angle. The front end was smoking. 

“This damn car never works!” a voice shouted. The owner of the car, a young man of Chinese descent, climbed from the car, over the door, which no longer worked. He landed on the ground with ease and glared at Duo. “I sunk all my money into this damn car!” 

Duo smirked and shook his head. He walked towards the front of the car and popped open the hood. “I told you not to buy it,” Duo said. “You didn’t listen.”

Wufei Chang, long time friend of Duo and Heero, was the child of a Chinese immigrant family that ran a dojo, teaching meditation and martial arts. While Wufei loathed most aspects of American culture, he still spent too much of his hard earned money on a lemon of a car. 

“Just fix it.” Wufei grumbled, crossing the drive towards Heero. Duo rolled his eyes, climbed over the stuck door and navigated the car into the garage, all the engine puffed out black smoke. When he pressed down on the breaks, the horrible screeching noise filled the air. 

“What are you doing down here, Yuy?” Wufei asked. 

“I got a case this morning,” Heero said. “You want in?” His friend shrugged his shoulders. 

“Sure, if it’ll help pay for the repairs on this car,” Wufei grumbled. Heero spent the next few minutes filling Wufei in on the case. By the end of his explanation, Wufei was shaking his head. 

“Anyone who deals with those Diolis always ends up dead. You’d think those idiots would learn,” Wufei said. 

“Yeah, I guess.” Heero lit another cigarette and took a drag, watching Duo tinker around with Wufei’s car. 

 

Friday  
7:00 pm

The sign hanging from the main gate of the circus said “Closed due to Rain.” The short respite had ended a few hours ago, and once again, rain thundered down from the heavens, continuing to soak the already drenched city. Inside Wufei’s car, which was temporarily running, Duo, Wufei, and Heero looked at the dreary circus through the window. Because the top wouldn’t close all the way over the convertible, a steady stream of water ran into the car, splashing on the floorboards in the backseat, while rivulets ran down the inside of the windshield. 

Duo shifted uncomfortably in the middle seat of the car. 

“Let’s just get this over with. Circuses freak me out,” he complained. Wufei and Heero exchanged a look, but said nothing. Heero opened the passenger door and climbed out, while Wufei rolled down the window on his side and slipped through the opening, landing on the soft grass with a squish. Duo climbed out the passenger side. 

The three walked around the main gate, slipping through an opening in the fence, and continued across the deserted midway. Games and attractions were closed down and deserted. The Fun House sat a short distance away, the mirrors on the outside reflecting the rain and the trespassers

As they neared the big top, they could see that there were light on inside. Heero led the way, approaching the flap that was open slightly, and ducked inside. 

Though Dorothy had told Heero that the big top was where her husband had been found, there was no evidence of a murder. Instead, the big top had been converted into a circus freak party. Lamps and old, flickering lights filled the tent with a yellow gloom. A group of men, all dressed in black and yellow, provided the music while the performers danced. The risers where the guests would normally sit were covered in food and booze. Duo started towards the bottles of alcohol, but Wufei caught him by the collar. 

“We weren’t invited to this party,” Wufei rasped. Duo grumbled. 

A man with a large belly materialized from the crowd, walking towards Heero and the others. He wore a red tuxedo that was lined with gold trim. “I don’t believe I know you,” he said as he approached. His greasy hair was slicked back, most likely by its own volition. 

“My name is Heero Yuy. I’m a private investigator, hired by Dorothy Catalonia-Bocharov to investigate the murder of her husband. These are my associates, Duo Maxwell and Wufei Chang,” Heero said. The man nodded. 

“Of course. My name is Thomas, the ringmaster. If there’s anything I can help you with, please let me know,” he said. Heero observed him, noticing how nervous he seemed to be. There was a hat between his hands that was being crushed and twisted by whatever nervous energy this man had. Heero pulled his notebook from his pocket and jotted down the man’s name and a few notes. 

“Who found the body?” Heero asked. Thomas nodded, turned, and whistled. From the crowd, two tall performers emerged, both dressed in, for lack of a better term, eye catching clothing. The man was tall with light brown hair, wearing a pair of ballooned pants with stars and crescent moons all over, and suspenders over his naked torso. The young woman beside him had on the shortest dress possible, which revealed her long, bare legs. Her curly brown hair was darker than her companion’s, and instead of green eyes, she had blue. 

“This is Trowa and Catherine, my star attractions. They found the body this morning,” Thomas explained. He turned to the two stoic performers. “Tell them what you know,” he added, and left. Heero shifted his gaze to the performers, jotting down a few more notes. 

“What time did you find him?” Heero asked. 

“Six this morning,” answered the woman, Catherine. “We were up early to practice.” 

“Did you see or hear anything?” Catherine shook her head. 

“He wasn’t even bleeding anymore by the time we got here,” she said. “Must have been up there for hours…” Her gaze drifted to the hand bars suspended above the ring. Heero thought she looked wistful. 

“Was anything out of place?” Heero asked, his patience running thin. He was also finding it strange that the man just stood beside the woman, staring at them with almost unblinking eyes. 

“Just the blood on the floor,” Catherine answered. “I suppose you could dust for fingerprints on the ladder, but you’d find the prints of every performer that’s ever climbed up and down.” Heero wrinkled his nose. 

“That won’t be necessary,” he said. “Where is he now?” 

“Buried in the corner of this property.” The answer was abrupt and came from the man, Trowa. Heero’s eyes shifted to him, and behind him, he could feel Duo and Wufei tensing up. 

“Bocharov owns this land,” Catherine added. “Well, I should say owned. I suppose his wife owns it now.” Heero made a few more notes while trying to avoid the gazes of the two performers. Beside him, he could feel Duo and Wufei shifting uncomfortably. The male performer, Trowa, moved away abruptly before Heero could ask any more questions. 

“Is there anything else?” Heero asked the woman, his eyes following the man as he wound through the dancing, drinking circus performers. Catherine shook her head. Heero snapped his notebook closed and was about to withdraw when Catherine stuck her hand down the front of her dress and pulled out three tickets. She handed them over to Heero, who reluctantly took them. 

“Why don’t you three stop by my show later,” she said, adding a wink, before whirling around and disappearing into the crowd. Duo snatched the tickets from Heero’s hands. 

“‘After Dark. A Study in the Exotic,’” Duo read. “It starts in fifteen minutes,” he added, checking the watch on his wrist. 

“We’re not going,” Heero said, trying to snatch the tickets away from Duo, who dodged out of the way. 

“Yes we are. Come on, Wufei,” Duo said, turning to the Chinese man, whose arms were folded over his chest. 

“Those shows are obscene,” he said. Duo rolled his eyes. 

“I’ll only take fifteen percent of the payoff for this case, and you two can split the rest,” Duo said. His eyes danced with excitement. With matching groans, Heero and Wufei conceded, only because it was rare that Duo would offer to give up money.

The tent that housed the show ‘After Dark’ was on the far side of the circus grounds, near an overgrown cement lot that was used as a parking lot. Several cars were already parked in haphazard rows. Wufei pulled his car up alongside one of the others, and the three climbed out. The tent was a dark purple color, almost black looking in the lack of sunlight. A reddish glow issued out from the gaps in the tent flaps. Duo led the way across the spongy grass and lifted the flap to gain entrance. 

A burly man in black halted Duo, holding a hand out for the tickets. Duo deposited the three tickets into his large hand, unconsciously taking a step away from him. The man looked at the tickets, ripped them in half and handed half the stubs back to Duo. The three edged their way into the tent around the burly man, entering into the main room through a second flap in the canvas. 

A circular platform was set up in the middle of the tent, and three rings of chairs were set up all around in a circle, save for a narrow pathway leading to another flap in the tent. Strings of what looked like oversized christmas lights hung from the tent poles, throwing off their garish red light. Most of the chairs were already taken by men, but Heero, Duo, and Wufei managed to find three that were together in the third row. Duo was ready to abandon them for a single empty chair in the front row, but Heero once again reminded him that they were on a job. 

Eventually, the lights flickered off, and music from a record player began to waft through the room. It was a slow, sultry song, one that Heero had never heard before. With a pop, a single white spotlight turned on, sending a single beam of light from the center of the tent down onto the platform. The tent flap on the other side opened, and a young woman stepped out, wearing very little, and leaving very little to the imagination. She sauntered down the narrow aisle and stepped up onto the platform. The men in the audience began to hoot and holler at the woman, who smiled in a slow, easy way. Her body moved to the music wafting from the record player. 

Heero and Wufei crossed their arms over their chests while Duo leaned forward, his elbows propped up on his knees. His mouth hung open as he oggled the dancing woman. Slipping a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, Heero lit one and drew on it, exhaling the smoke through his nose. Wufei jabbed him with a finger, his eyes pleading for a smoke as well. Heero grumbled, but lit another cigarette and handed it over. 

The music ended, and the dancing woman bowed low, turning slowly on her toes to bow to the entire group around her. With swaying hips, she stepped off the stage and disappeared behind the curtain. Heero and Wufei began to stand up, but no one else was moving. 

“The show’s not over, boys,” a man said from beside them. Heero and Wufei glanced at each other, then slowly sank back down in their seats. Duo shook his head at them. 

New music began, this song a little more fast paced than the previous. From behind the curtain, a woman began to sing. Slowly, the part in the curtain opened, and Catherine, the performer from before, stepped out. Her low, smoky voice was singing along to the music from the record player. Her outfit, while similarly revealing to the previous dancer, was covered in rhinestones and sequins that glittered in the red light of the tent. The smoke from the audiences’ cigarettes had collected towards the top of the tent, creating a haze around Catherine, which added a layer of mystery to her performance. 

“She is cookin’,” Duo said, his mouth hanging open once more. Catherine had climbed up onto the platform, singing and dancing to the music, moving in such a way to emphasize her barely concealed womanly curves. Heero, once again uncomfortable, crossed his arms and legs, as if he were trying to completely cave in on himself, to hide from the embarrassment he felt. It was bad enough that the reason he was there, Dorothy Catalonia-Bocharov, had managed to invade his mind with her low cut dress and obvious sex appeal. Heero wasn’t a prude, but that didn’t mean he liked to see woman so naked and so vulnerable. 

For another fifteen minutes, Catherine sang and danced on the stage. Finally, to Heero’s immense relief, Catherine bowed and disappeared from the tent. This time, the men began to stand, most with cigarettes hanging from their lips. Wufei and Heero shoved Duo out through the tent flaps. 

“That was boss,” Duo said on their way back to the car. Heero just rolled his eyes. 

“I need a drink. Wufei, take us to the bar,” Heero said, waiting while Duo climbed into the non-existent middle seat of the car. Wufei nodded, looking pale in the face. Heero climbed in after Duo, squeezing together when he slammed the door closed. The inside of the car was damp from a leak in the windows and convertible top. 

Duo began to sing the song that Catherine had performed. “Give a rest, would ya,” Wufei barked, speeding the car through the parking lot and onto the main road. Duo scoffed. 

“You both need to lighten up. They were dancing for our entertainment,” Duo said. “They want us to enjoy it.” Heero and Wufei said nothing, so Duo sat back in his seat and hummed the music from the dance.


	3. Chapter 3

Friday  
9:00 pm

Wufei stopped his car along the side of the road in front of their regular, hole-in-the-wall bar, Tim’s Billiards. The three men climbed from the car, and Heero led the way inside. The long bar stretched from one end of the room to the other, with a large mirror behind it, lined with bottles of booze. Smaller tables lined the other side of the room, with the center area taken up by several billiards tables, the green felt worn and scratched from use. The owner, Tim, promised to replace the felt, but he’d been saying that for years. 

Cigarette and cigar smoke hung low, the smell mingling with stale beer and peanuts. It was fairly crowded, being a Friday night, and it looked like most people must have gotten their paycheck. A few tables were crowded around by men wearing similar uniforms, and were drinking shots of whiskey. Piles of cash were stacked on the edges of the billiards tables, while the men tried to scam each other at the game. 

“Hey there, boys!” The man behind the bar called, waving an arm to them. The bartender, Howard, was a grade A oddball, wearing sunglasses indoors at all time, and always boasting a Hawaiian print shirt, usually in varying colors and gaudiness. He was balding, and the remaining hair had already receded towards the back of his head and stuck out in tufts around his ears. Duo had actually been the one to introduce Howard to Heero and Wufei; Howard ran a not-entirely-legal chop shop in his free time, and Duo had used him several times to get cheap parts for cars. 

The three waved back to Howard, crossing the bar and squeezing themselves in between a few occupied stools to order drinks. Without being asked, Howard filled three tumblers with whiskey and pushed them over the bar counter. 

“First round is on me,” Howard said, lowering his voice. “Finally having some good luck coming my way.” 

“What happened?” Duo asked. Heero and Wufei picked up their glasses and edged in closer to hear the story. 

“I had someone from the Dioli family in shop earlier today,” Howard said. “I’m going to be their exclusive chop shop from now on.” A wide grin with bad teeth followed. Wufei frowned. 

“Getting involved with the mob doesn’t sound like good luck to me,” Wufei said. Howard shrugged his shoulders. 

“They’ve made a lot of people rich, and this time, they picked me,” Howard said. Heero listened, shaking his head to himself. The dollar signs in Howard’s eyes were blinding him to dangers of working with the Diolis. He must not know how many people didn’t get rich working with the family, and how many people ended up dead. 

Howard moved away to serve another customer, so Duo turned to face the other two. “I don’t see that going well for him,” Duo said, his expression glum. Heero and Wufei nodded their agreement. In one corner, a table freed up, the loud group of men laughing and hanging on each other as they exited the bar. Duo weaved quickly through the crowds to the table and sat down, claiming it for them. Wufei and Heero followed behind. 

Now seated, Heero let his gaze pass through the bar, watching the gathered patrons drink and talk and cheat at cards and billiards. Heero knew better than to ever get sucked into a poker game with any of the customers of Tim’s Billiards, for they cheated like their lives depended on it. He hadn’t been that smart in the past though. 

Heero pulled his packet of cigarettes from his pocket and slipped one out, along with his matches. He grunted in annoyance when Duo and Wufei helped themselves to his pack, but said nothing. Once the three were lit, he pocketed his things and leaned back in his chair, the cigarette between his fingers. Heero tuned out Duo and Wufei talking and harassing each other, and most of the other noise, too. He kept his glass cupped in his hands and sipped slowly, letting the mid-shelf whiskey warm him up after the cold ride in Wufei’s car. Being damp from the rain made him uncomfortable as well, so he eventually discarded his coat. It was warm in the bar, but mostly from the heat of the bodies of the customers, and it made the air sticky and oily. Heero knew he’d be showering as soon as he got home. 

As Heero’s buzzed mind drifted along whatever course his thoughts took him, the door opened and a young woman stepped inside. She wore a long, black coat which dripped rain water onto the floor. A small, round hat in pink was pinned to her hair, tilted on an angle, nestled among the curls of her long blonde hair. She removed her coat, revealing a pastel pink tailored suit with a knee length pencil skirt. After shaking out the coat, she draped it over her arm and stepped further into the bar. 

“She doesn’t belong in here.” 

“Who doesn’t?” 

Heero shook head head. He didn’t realize he’d spoken. Duo and Wufei were staring at him, eyebrows raised. 

“That woman,” Heero said, gesturing with his whiskey glass. The woman had crossed to the bar and was waiting while Howard produced a drink for her. It was then that Heero noticed that the noise level in the bar had lessened, and many of the patrons were shamelessly staring at her. Howard placed a martini down on the counter, clear with two green olives. She picked it up and sipped it gingerly, her light blue eyes scanning the bar. 

Heero froze when her blue eyes landed on him. She flashed him a smile before her eyes continued to scan the room. Heero blinked, feeling like someone had just opened up his chest and looked at his soul. 

“She looks familiar,” Wufei said, pulling Heero from his daze. Duo nodded. 

“Yeah, I swear I’ve seen her before.” 

Heero said nothing, as nothing about her face was familiar. A moment later, Wufei slapped his hand on the table. 

“That’s it!” he shouted, startling a few nearby patrons. “That’s Relena Peacecraft.” 

“Ohhh…” Duo breathed. “Yeah! You’re right!” 

“Relena… Peacecraft?” Heero asked slowly. Duo rolled his eyes. 

“You know, from the Peacecraft family? That super wealthy family? Her dad was a politician before he was murdered, and her mother passed away a few years ago. I think she has a brother left…” Duo said. A glimmer of recognition began to form in Heero’s mind, but he still didn’t see anything recognizable in her face. He’d probably just heard things about her, but never saw a picture. 

“That doesn’t explain what she’s doing in a dive like this,” Wufei said. 

The door to the bar opened once more, and this time a very tall, dark skinned man stepped inside. His features looked middle eastern, with dark hair covering his head and his face, though it was neatly groomed. He wore an expensive looking dark colored suit, and was carrying a leather briefcase. He spotted Relena at the bar, and parting the crowd, he made his way over to her. 

Heero watched as they exchanged a few words, then stepped away from the bar, but not before a second drink made its way into Relena’s hand. They walked together to a small empty table, which had a little card tent in the center that said “RESERVED.” 

“Some kind of shady business deal,” Duo said. Heero couldn’t argue, as it looked very much like that. Papers were produced from the leather briefcase, and Relena was reading them over, still sipping on her drink. Something in his mind wanted to resist the idea that this woman who looked so innocent would be involved with something shady. They watched for several more minutes, which included a refill on their drinks, until the middle eastern man packed up the papers and rose from the table. He bowed to Relena, then swiftly exited the bar. She remained behind, sipping on her martini. 

“Well, that was exciting,” Wufei said sarcastically. He turned his chair so that he was facing Heero and Duo. “We should discuss this case.” Heero wasn’t in the mood to discuss anything, but he leaned onto his elbows on the table. 

“I don’t trust those circus clowns,” Duo said. “No matter how stacked that Catherine is.” 

“That’s more of a reason not to trust them,” Wufei said. 

“There’s definitely something more going on,” Heero agreed with a sigh. “The fact that Miss Bocharov didn’t want to go to the police is a red flag.” His two partners nodded. “We should explore the mafia ties, which is something I don’t want to do, but it looks like that’s our only lead.” 

“Mafia ties? How fascinating.” A female voice broke through their conversation, sounding amused. All three men jerked their heads around to see Relena Peacecraft standing near their table, her martini in her hand. She had a smile on her lips, but her eyelids were lowered in almost a seductive way. All three gaped at her for a moment, until she moved around to the empty chair at their table and sat down. 

“Uh… Miss Peacecraft… hello,” Duo managed to stumble out. He stood up quickly from his chair, giving her a quick, clumsy bow. She grinned. “I’m Duo Maxwell, and these are my buddies, Heero Yuy and Wufei Chang.” 

“Pleasure,” she replied, meeting the eyes of each man. “You’re discussing the mafia?” she asked. 

“What’s it to you, lady?” Wufei asked rather aggressively. Relena didn’t flinch at his tone, though Duo reached over and smacked him on the arm. Relena set down her martini glass on the table and leaned back in her chair, crossing her legs as she did so. Her back straightened and she rested her elbows on the table. 

“I have a particular interest in the mafia,” she said. 

“Are you a reporter or something?” Duo asked. The woman laced her fingers together and rested her chin on them. 

“Of sorts,” she answered. 

Heero watched this exchange with his arms across his chest, glowering silently at the young woman. He was slightly put off by how she’d just jumped into their conversation without invitation, but at the same time, he couldn’t help admiring how pretty she was, even against the backdrop of the dingy bar. An even smaller part of his mind was impressed at her guts to just walk into a conversation with a bunch of strangers. 

“So why are you exploring mafia ties?” Relena asked, glancing between the three of them once more. Duo looked back and forth at Heero and Wufei, as if expecting one of them to say something, but both had the same angry expression on their faces, their arms still crossed over their chests. 

“Well Heero here is a private invest-” 

Heero whirled in his chair and punched Duo in the arm, whispering through his teeth to be quiet. 

“Ow! What’s the big idea!?” Duo shouted at Heero, who sat back in his chair and motioned for the waiter to bring him another drink. 

“Shut up, Maxwell,” Heero said. 

“What? Your business is in the damn phone book,” Duo said. “She could go figure it out if she wanted to.” Heero said nothing, so Duo turned back to Relena. “Heero is a PI, and he’s got a case. The only leads we have are to the mafia.” Relena tapped her chin with a finger. 

“Interesting. What’s the case?” she asked. Heero glanced at Duo, who was once again staring at him, almost as if he were asking for permission to speak, even though Duo would say everything anyway. Heero sighed and glanced around. Everyone in the bar was involved in their own business, so he leaned forward over the table. Before he began to speak, the waiter brought back another drink for Heero. 

“Another martini, please,” Relena said. “Dry. Three olives.” The waiter nodded and backed away from the table. Her eyes turned back to Heero and looked at him expectantly. 

“Bartok Bocharov was found dead in the big top of his circus. His wife hired me to find the murderer,” Heero said. Relena’s eyebrows raised up. 

“Huh, interesting. I hadn’t heard that he died,” Relena said, and to Heero’s great interest, she seemed to have thought better about saying anything. Stumbling a bit over her words, she added, “He’s rich. You’d think it would have been in the newspaper.” Inwardly, Heero grinned. So this young woman had secrets, too. 

Heero sipped at his drink while Duo began to chat idly with her, and Relena seemed to have lost interest in the conversation about mafia ties. As Heero’s brain began to fog up with drunkenness, he heard Duo say something about fixing Relena’s car for free whenever she wanted or needed. Wufei remained silent, as usual when a woman was present. After a while, Relena rose from the table, shook hands with the three men, then disappeared. Heero, already low into his drink, was hustled from the bar after paying his tab (at least he thought he paid his tab), and crammed into Wufei’s tiny car.


	4. Chapter 4

Sunday  
9:00 am

Heero rarely woke up any time before noon on the weekends, unless he really had pressing work to do. As per usual, he’d wiled away Saturday night with Wufei and Duo, drinking at the bar and chain smoking through another pack of cigarettes. They’d only discussed the case a little more, and Duo seemed content to continue to talk about the girl Relena, though she had nothing to do with the case. 

Unfortunately, Heero received a call at his home number from Dorothy Catalonia-Bocharov at 8:00 in the morning. 

“I want you to come look through my husband’s office this morning. Tomorrow, the lawyers are going to be doing their clean up, so I want you to get your hands on anything important before they do,” she’d said, whispering quickly into the phone. Heero managed to scribble down the address before she hung up on him. 

He’d tried to get a hold of Wufei and Duo, but neither answered their phones, which meant Heero was stuck doing the work on his own. It was just as well, he supposed. They wouldn’t steal anymore of his cigarettes. 

The location of the office wasn’t all that far from where Heero lived if he took several shortcuts, so he dressed, picked up another pack of cigarettes and started on his way. 

For once, the rain had let up, and the sun was shining weakly through the clouds. A chill was still in the air, as if winter hadn’t quite yet decided to leave. Every few feet, Heero was yawning, prompting him to stop at a small cafe and buy a cup of coffee. He skipped the cream and sugar, hoping the black coffee would wake him up enough to complete a thorough search of Bocharov’s office. Miss Catalonia-Bocharov didn’t seem like the kind to mess around, so he certainly didn’t want to make her mad by stumbling about in a half-asleep stupor. 

When Heero arrived at the building, he found that Dorothy was already waiting for him. She kept checking her watch and looking around impatiently, until she finally noticed him. “There you are! Come on, then. Hurry.” Dorothy led him into the building. The lobby was deserted except for an ancient security guard, who was sitting in a chair on one side, asleep. Heero pulled out his notebook and jotted down the address of the building and the detail about the guard. Leading the way, Dorothy brought Heero to a bank of gilded elevators. She pressed the button for “UP” and waited while Heero looked around. 

The lobby was mostly marble with elaborate trims and decor. He wondered why anyone would need such a fancy office building. “Did Bocharov own this building?” Heero asked. 

“No, actually. He’s just renting a floor here for his various business dealings,” Dorothy answered. Finally, the elevator dinged softly and the door slid open. They stepped into the carpeted elevator, and Dorothy pushed the button for the 6th floor. 

Bocharov’s office was mostly mahogany, and Heero thought his desk was larger than anyone really needed. The worst part of it all, however, was that Bocharov was very disorganized. Though much too large, the entire surface of the desk was scattered with paperwork. File cabinets and book shelves were also filled with stacks of papers, folders, and notes. Dorothy took one look around the room and backed up towards the door. 

“Well, I’ll leave you to it then. I’ll be in the lobby.” And she was gone. 

Heero spent hours in the office, sorting through paperwork. Dorothy did bring him coffee periodically, which was appreciated, though her low-cut dress was distracting in its own right.

During his search, he skimmed every page for any mention of the Dioli family, but he found nothing. Even so, Heero picked out papers from the piles with names of companies, business people, and locations, so he could go through later and more closely. At least it would give him more leads, should the need arise. 

Many documents about the circus were group together, and from the looks of it, the circus wasn’t doing well financially, if Heero was reading the papers right. He kept that stack as well. In the bottom of a drawer, he found correspondence from what looked like several different women, and Heero kept one, to keep their names on file. At this point in his investigation, anyone could be a suspect. 

As the morning pressed into afternoon, Dorothy reappeared, looking bored and annoyed. 

“You’re still working?” she asked. Heero glanced up at her from the papers in front of him. 

“Your husband wasn’t the most organized person in the world,” Heero said, shifting a pile aside and pulling another towards him. Dorothy grunted and sat down in one of the chair across the desk. 

“I wouldn’t let him have an assistant, because he’d always hire these young bimbos. My dear, departed husband had a very wandering eye,” Dorothy said. Heero acted aloof, but he began to take notes in his mind, something he’d always been fairly good at. Though, Heero wondered if she could really judge her husband for having a wandering eye when she dressed so provocatively. 

“What about you?” Heero asked, knowing he was treading in dangerous waters. 

“What about me?” Dorothy asked in return, eyeing him. Heero shrugged his shoulders. 

“I’ll have to get your alibi if I’m to rule you out as the murderer,” Heero said, lifting his head up to meet her gaze. 

“I was at a charity event,” she responded. 

“Did anyone see you there?” 

“Many people,” she answered. Heero stared at her, waiting for more information, but she was not forthcoming. While it sounded suspicious, Heero wasn’t getting the feeling that she was lying. Not that his gut instinct wasn’t foolproof, but it was usually at least a good indicator of people to look into. She probably has plenty of her own secrets, Heero thought to himself. 

Either way, he could deal with her alibi later. In this town, the usual suspect was always the mafia, and Heero had found that ruling them out first was easier, especially in a situation like this. The killer didn’t just kill Bocharov - they strung him up in his own circus tent. Whoever it was had made a statement, which meant it wasn’t a random accident. 

Dorothy remained silent while Heero finished up. Eventually, he gathered together the papers he wanted to take with him and slipped them into a large manila envelope. 

“I’m all set,” he said. Dorothy nodded, unsmiling, and led him back out of the building. Her previously visible cleavage had been hidden away behind her coat, which Heero could only understand as being indicative of her mood.

 

Tuesday  
11:30 am

Heero sat at his desk, head in his hands. He’d gone over the documents from Bocharov’s office three times already, but there was nothing hidden among the figures to indicate a problem with anyone. Surprisingly, though he had many bills, he was somehow able to keep up with his payments, which Heero had noted as being suspicious. But without bank statements, he couldn’t prove anything. 

So, with nothing else to do, Heero drank his frustrations. His choice of poison for the day was a mid-range whiskey, one he normally wouldn’t buy because of the price, but was a little smoother than the usual trash. He was a little past the neck of the bottle when someone knocked on his door. Through the frosted glass, he could see the silhouette of a woman. His stomach lurched, and he hoped that it wasn’t Dorothy coming to fire him and take back his advance. He needed the money. 

With hesitation, he rose and stepped around the desk. He unlocked the door and pulled it open. 

A breath of relief left him when he saw it wasn’t Dorothy, but Relena Peacecraft, the woman from the bar several days ago. She smiled brightly. She wore a similar outfit to the one she had on the last time he’d seen her - a business suit tailored for women, with a skirt instead of pants. It was a light blue color that matched her eyes. 

“Hello, My. Yuy. I don’t know if you remember me…” 

“Relena Peacecraft,” Heero purred, his words coming out slightly slurred. She nodded. 

“Yes. I was hoping I could take you to lunch,” she said, stepping around him to enter his office. Heero followed her with his eyes and closed the door. 

“Why?” He watched her as she looked around the office, apparently assessing the horrid state it was currently in. Several dirty shirts were slung over the back of a chair, piles of paperwork littered his desk, and empty bottles were crowded under the desk. Not to mention the dust and dried mud on the floor... and most of the other surfaces. 

“I have some information I’d like to pass onto you,” she said. “It might be helpful to your case.” Heero narrowed his eyes at her, but she remained steadfast. 

“What interest could you have in my case?” he asked. He took up a defensive pose by crossing his arms over his chest. Relena sighed. 

“Trust me,” she replied, taking a step towards him, her hand reaching out to touch his forearm. Heero watched this gesture with annoyance. “Besides, I said I’d pay. You can’t turn down a free lunch.” 

Heero wanted to make a remark about a “free lunch,” but then, he supposed she didn’t directly mean that his office clearly showed his lack of income. Her friendly smile made that clear. Finally, he nodded and grabbed his coat from the hook on the wall. 

“Lead the way.” 

Relena nodded and opened the door to the office. Heero followed, locking the door behind him with a key, then continued to follow Relena up and out of the basement level where his office was located in the rundown office building. Up out on the street, the sun blinded Heero for a moment while his eyes adjusted. Parked in the road along the curb was a sleek black Cadillac limousine. The engine was idling while the driver, Heero supposed, waited patiently beside the car. 

“Ready, Miss Relena?” the driver asked. Relena motioned to the waiting car. 

“Yes, Pagan,” she answered. Pagan opened the back door of the car and Relena slipped in. Heero followed behind, with Pagan closing the door behind him. 

The interior of the car still smelled like new leather, and it was spotlessly clean. Pagan climbed into the driver’s seat, put the car in gear, and pulled away from the curb. 

“So what’s this information you have?” Heero asked. To his surprise, Relena laid a hand on his arm and smiled. 

“Relax,” she said. “I will explain in due time, and I promise you won’t be disappointed.” Heero still felt skeptical, but he kept his mouth shut. Instead, he focused on the smooth ride afforded by this Cadillac, much better than Wufei’s piece of shit car. 

“Why were you slumming at Tim’s Billiards?” Heero asked, partially out of curiosity, and partially because the silence between them was almost too comfortable, which made Heero very uncomfortable. Heero watched Relena’s face as her secretive smile appeared. 

“Family business, you could say,” she replied. Heero narrowed his eyes in suspicion, and she laughed in return. “I know I stick out there, but it’s the best place for me to meet with some business associates.” 

Associates. The word echoed in Heero’s mind. There was a lot more to this woman than he had originally thought. 

It wasn’t long before the car was stopped on the side of the road in front of a small restaurant. There was a patio outside, where several patrons were taking advantage of the nicer weather. Heero pushed open the car door before Pagan could reach it, and he turned to offer a hand to Relena. She took it, her gloved fingers wrapping around his palm, and he hoisted her out. 

“We’ll be about an hour,” Relena called to Pagan, who nodded. 

“Very good, Miss Relena,” he said. He drove the car away from the curb and turned down another street. Relena led the way into the restaurant. Heero rarely went out to eat, and he had never to his knowledge been in a place as fancy as this. The walls were painted white and were trimmed in gold. Statues sat in small alcoves in the walls, depicting various Greek gods. Crystal chandeliers hung from the ceiling, casting a warm glow to the entire room. Some of the tables were filled with men and women dressed in fine clothing, making Heero feel extremely underdressed. At the hostess stand, the woman greeted Relena. 

“Good to see you again, Miss Peacecraft. This way,” the young woman said. Relena turned to look at Heero, so he stopped staring at the restaurant and followed the two women to a table in a far corner. Heero waited while Relena discarded her coat, revealing a white blouse, and sat down, so he followed suit. 

A waiter arrived with two menus, a bottle of wine and a pitcher of water, filled their glasses, then swept away again without a word. Heero glanced down at the short list of available lunch items. His eyes widened at the prices, but of course Relena was unfazed. This was normal for her. 

“Their steak is excellent,” Relena commented as she glanced down the menu. Steak for lunch? Heero shrugged and decided he’d go with that. It was easier than trying to decipher all the unfamiliar cooking terms that were littered all over the menu. 

The waiter returned, took their orders, and whisked away again. Heero sat back in his chair and sipped at the wine that had been poured for him. 

“So?” Heero asked. Relena smiled and leaned forward, resting her chin on her interlaced fingers. 

“So… I wanted to tell you that I can help you with your case,” she said. Heero blinked. 

“You can?” 

“I have a contact that could get you in touch with the Diolis, and you could find out if they were behind the murder of Bocharov,” Relena said. 

“Who is it?” Heero asked, leaning forward eagerly. Relena grinned. 

“Me.” 

Heero froze. Shit. “You?” he asked, his voice unnaturally high. Relena nodded, then leaned forward and spoke, her voice low. 

“My older brother, Zechs Marquis, is the right hand man of Treize Kushranada-Dioli, the current underboss of the family,” Relena told him. Heero’s mouth fell open. He was sitting with the fabled Dioli Sister, Little Dove. Rumors were everywhere about this mysterious woman, not a blood relation to the family, but who nearly ran as much of the activities as her male counterparts. Heero’s mind flashed back to meeting Relena at the bar several nights before - what kind of deal was she in the middle of that night? 

“I can tell by your expression that you know who I am,” Relena said. She was unfazed by his reaction, clearly. Heero shook his head and looked at her. 

“How do you know I won’t rat you out?” Heero asked. Relena smiled and leaned forward, resting a hand on his arm. 

“I don’t mean to sound rude, darling, but who would believe you?” Heero had never before felt bested by a woman, but there was a first time for everything. This woman was in total control of everything surrounding her life, including him. He imagined that any man who crossed her path would end up in her orbit. 

“Alright, I’m buying into your story. Why are you so interested in Bocharov?” Heero asked. Before Relena could answer, the waiter brought their lunch, along with another refill of wine. After the first few bites, Relena spoke. 

“Well, you are right about him having ties with the family, but his death is a surprise to us,” Relena said. “I know my brother and Treize would like to know any information you’ve got.” She paused for a moment to take a sip of wine. “Since the police are not involved at Mrs. Bocharov’s request, I have to imagine that there are many other secrets lying below the surface.” Heero nodded, having come to the same conclusion as well. 

He snuck a glance at her while she ate; he could almost feel the amount of power she could wield in her position, and how much control she had. He was a little envious, if he were perfectly honest. 

“Treize Kushranada-Dioli…” Heero mumbled around his food. “He’s not family?” Relena shook her head. 

“He was hand selected to marry the Don’s only daughter, Aria-Une Dioli, and was legally adopted into the family. The current Don is getting older, and he has health problems. Treize is being groomed to take over the position once Don Dioli is gone,” Relena explained. “Treize’s father was one of Don Dioli’s capos many years ago, and after he was killed, the Don took Treize into his own family.” 

Heero frowned and leveled a steady gaze at Relena. Pieces were clicking together in his mind. 

“Relena, how did your parents die?” he asked. Relena flinched, and a light blush dusted over her cheeks. Finally, she looked up at him. 

“Let’s just say that given the choice, I would have done something different with my life,” she said. Heero’s fingers itched to reach out to her, but her hands had dropped into her lap. Her eyes were cast down at her plate, which she had only half eaten. 

“I think we all end up on paths that we least expect,” Heero mumbled. “My parents died when I was young, so I ended up in orphanages and foster care. That’s how I met Duo Maxwell. When I grew up, I went to the police academy, graduated, and got a job, but only made it a few years before I was thrown off the force.” 

“What were you accused of?”

“Excessive aggression and alcohol abuse… as my file would say,” Heero answered, then he shrugged his shoulders. Relena said nothing to this, but kept her gaze on him for several more moments before she took a sip of her wine. 

After lunch, Relena’s driver took him back to his office. Before he climbed out of the car, he turned to Relena. 

“When will this meeting be set up?” he asked. 

“It will take me a few days to convince them, but it shouldn’t be more than that. I’ll be in touch, one way or another,” Relena replied, giving him a half-hearted smile. Heero felt a little guilty that their conversation had taken a sad turn, as she was no longer smiling her easy, confident smile. Not knowing what else to say, Heero thanked her and climbed out of the car. Before stepping through the door back to his office, he glanced once more over his shoulder. Pagan pulled the car away and they drove off down the street.


	5. Chapter 5

Tuesday  
6:00 pm

After Heero had returned from his lunch with Relena, he called Duo and Wufei. They agreed to meet at Tim’s Billiards that evening to discuss the information that Heero had learned. 

When Hero arrived, Wufei and Duo were already inside with drinks. Heero ordered one at the bar and joined them at the table in the back. Duo was all but bouncing up and down in his seat. 

“You’re killing me here, Yuy!” Duo called out to him as Heero sat down. Wufei rolled his eyes. 

On the way over, Heero contemplated just how much information he should reveal to Wufei and Duo. Relena had no problem telling him about who she was, but would she have a problem with Wufei and Duo knowing? Although, until their lunch earlier, she had known about as much about those two as she did about him. So why did she trust him with that information? 

He’d eventually made the decision to leave out Relena’s connection to Zechs Marquis, which Heero later realized was a fake name. He figured if Duo or Wufei said anything to anyone else about knowing the “Little Dove,” they probably wouldn’t be taken seriously. 

Once Heero had sat down at the table with Wufei and Duo, he took a long drink from his glass and set it down in front of him. “Relena Peacecraft can get us a meeting with Treize, from the Dioli family.” Heero paused dramatically to enjoy the shocked expressions on his friends’ faces. 

“How?” Wufei asked, his expression mingling surprise with suspicion. 

“She has some connection with the Underboss’s right hand man,” Heero explained. “Apparently the Diolis have some connections with Bocharov, and his death is a surprise to them.” 

“So maybe they weren’t the ones who killed him,” Duo mused, pushing his chair onto the two back legs. 

“Perhaps they can supply us some resources or information to find out who did kill him,” Wufei added. Heero nodded to both of them. He quickly explained about Treize Kushranada and his position within the family, which they both found interesting as well, though Wufei had changed his mind slightly after a while. 

“Are we sure it’s a good idea to get involved with them?” Wufei asked. “They’d know our names and what we look like…” 

“We just have to make sure we don’t piss them off,” Duo said, waving away Wufei’s concern with a flap of his hand. Wufei scowled, but said nothing further. 

“You two can come along to the meeting, if you want,” Heero said. “You’re not obligated.” 

“I’m going. I wanna see this guy’s pad,” Duo said. Eyes turned to Wufei, who scoffed. 

“Fine. I’m going, too.” 

 

Thursday Morning

It seemed that Relena Peacecraft’s method of “being in touch” was to send a burly Italian man to Heero’s office. The man was standing outside on the sidewalk, looking less than pleased to be out on this task. Heero stopped up short and looked up at him, since he was probably two feet taller than he. 

“You Heero Yuy?” the man asked with a thick accent. Heero nodded. The man pulled an envelope from the breast pocket of suit coat and handed it over. Heero took it, and before he could say anything else, the man was off, hulking down the sidewalk. 

Heero used his key to unlock the door to his office and he stepped inside. Anxious to read the note, he ripped it open, not bothering to sit at his desk. 

Heero-

I will have a car pick you up outside of your office on Friday at 6:00 pm.

-Relena

Heero pocketed the note and hurried to his phone to call the others. 

 

Friday  
6:00 PM

“This better not be a waste of time,” Wufei grumbled, his arms crossed over his chest, while the three of them huddled under the building’s awning to avoid the rain. 

“Like you have something better to do,” Duo countered, nudging Wufei with his elbow. Heero shot a glare at the two of them. 

“Cut the gas,” Heero mumbled to the two, also huddled in on himself to keep away the cold. It was supposed to be spring, but the heat from the sun was sure taking its time to arrive. So was Relena’s driver. 

About ten minutes after the hour, a black Cadillac rolled up. This one was an older model than the one Heero had ridden in with Relena, but it was just as nice. There were two men in the front seat. The man on the passenger side opened his door and stepped out into the rain, then joined the three under the awning. 

“Yuy?” the man asked, and Heero nodded. “Come on, let’s go. She’s waitin.’” The man hurried back out into the rain and pulled open the back door of the car. One by one, they rushed from their place under the awning into the warm interior of the car. The Dioli man shut the door behind Wufei and climbed back into the passenger seat. He said something to the driver, who then threw the car in drive and peeled off down the road. 

The drive to the Dioli estate took about an hour, partly because some of the roads leading to the estate were almost completely mud. The driver of the car navigated carefully around the worst of the muddy roads, keeping the gas going to avoid getting stuck. Eventually, they made it past the mud and onto another paved road, which was the drive up to the estate. As they crested a hill, the estate came into view. Surrounded by a tall metal fence, the estate sprawled out, covering a lot of the grounds. There was a main manor house, along with several smaller houses in the back. From their vantage point, they could see a pool in the back, though it was still covered for the winter. As the car descended towards the gate, it began to swing open to admit the car. 

The circular drive that ran past the front door of the house already had several cars parked in a row. Heero recognized the black Cadillac limo that he’d ridden in with Relena. So she’s here… he thought to himself. 

The car came to a stop, so Heero, Duo, and Wufei climbed out of the backseat. Two men, who looked every bit gangster, were waiting by the front door, presumably to escort them into the house. Sure enough, they motioned for the three to follow them inside. Heero was immediately overwhelmed by how nice the inside of the house was, but he didn’t have much time to admire it. The two gangsters hustled them down a hallway and stopped at a set of double doors. One of the gangsters knocked, and a voice called from inside to come in. The doors were opened, and the three men filed inside. 

There were four people already inside the room. One was Relena, who was perched on a couch. She smiled at Heero when he met her eyes. Standing behind the couch was a tall man with long blonde hair and bright blue eyes. He shared many facial traits with Relena - which meant this must be her brother. 

Sitting behind the large mahogany desk was a man who was probably several years older than Heero. He had light brown hair that was perfectly styled. Even his suit was immaculate. His narrow blue eyes were focused on Heero and his friends. Heero could only assume this was Treize Kushranada-Dioli, Underboss of the Dioli family. 

The woman standing at Treize’s elbow had a very unhappy look on her face. Her brown hair was swept up into coiled braids, and a pair of glasses sat perched on her nose. Heero noticed that she had very distinct frown lines - he could recognize them from some of the women who had fostered him as a child. 

After the doors closed behind them, Relena rose from the couch and stood beside Heero. 

“Treize, these are the men I wanted you to meet. This is Heero Yuy, Duo Maxwell, and Wufei Chang,” she said, then turned to look at Heero. “This is Treize Kushranada-Dioli, and his wife, Aria-Une Dioli. Over there,” She pointed. “is my brother, Zechs Marquis.” 

Heero heard Wufei and Duo’s sharp intake of breath. He’d forgotten to mention that fact to his partners. Ah well. Now they knew. 

Treize rose from his chair and moved around the desk until he was standing in front of Heero. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said, holding out a hand. Heero glanced at Relena for confirmation, and she nodded. Heero gripped the other man’s hand. It was strange - looking at Treize, it felt like the other man was staring down into Heero’s heart, like he might know every one of Heero’s secrets and lies. When Treize released his hand, he shook with Duo and Wufei as well. 

“Please, have a seat,” Treize said. “Une darling, would you bring us some coffee?” 

“Of course,” the woman said. She silently left the room through the door. Heero sat down on one of the couches, and Relena took a seat beside him. Duo and Wufei sat as well. 

“Miss Relena says you have information about the death of Bartok Bocharov,” Treize began, glancing around the room, meeting the eyes of everyone assembled. “I understand you were hired by Mrs. Bocharov.” 

“That’s correct,” Heero answered. He told Treize the details, beginning with his first meeting with Dorothy Catalonia-Bocharov, though the experience at the circus, searching Bocharov’s office, and meeting Relena. “We fell at the end of our leads, as the circus performers didn’t seem to know anything. And if he kept any paperwork about his dealings, he didn’t keep it in his office,” Heero added. Treize listened intently, his fingers laced in front of his face. 

Une returned shortly after, carrying a tray of coffee, cups, and cream and sugar. She served everything before taking her place behind Treize’s chair. 

“Mr. Bocharov has been borrowing money from us for a long time, and I believe he is still in debt to us,” Treize said. He released his fingers and sat back in his chair. “Full disclosure, we did not send anyone to end him.” 

“It seems strange that the killer would go to lengths to string him up in the big top after he was already dead,” Relena said. Treize nodded his agreement. 

“Very flashy.”

“We figured you might have been involved when Mrs. Bocharov didn’t want the police involved,” Duo said, making Heero wince. He’d told them to let him do the talking. However, Treize chuckled. 

“I can see why you would be suspicious,” Treize said, smiling at Duo. Heero didn’t trust the smile one bit. “However, we are not the only force in this city with the ability to have someone killed. There are other wealthy families-” He paused a moment and glanced up at Zechs, who had been silent the entire time. “Who is that fellow that Bocharov often made deals with?” 

“Relena’s friend, Quatre Winner?” Zechs answered. Relena turned to look at her brother. Winner? Heero thought. 

“You really think he could have something to do with this?” she asked him. Heero watched a very significant expression pass between the siblings. Relena turned and pressed a finger to her chin. “He just doesn’t seem the type,” she said, more to herself than anyone else. Zechs reached forward and pressed a hand to her shoulder. 

“It’s only a guess,” Treize said dismissively. 

“Wasn’t Mr. Bocharov struggling to make ends meet with his circus?” Une asked, startling nearly everyone when she spoke. Heero glanced at the woman, who was maintaining her sour expression. 

“Yes, but he didn’t borrow money for that from us,” Zechs confirmed. “Relena, did you have anything going on with him?” She shook her head. 

“He had an opium den, but I don’t know who he bought from,” Relena said. “How do you know it wasn’t the wife?” She had directed her attention back to Heero. 

“Well, she’s independently wealthy,” Heero said. “She comes from an aristocratic family in Europe. And she-”

“She has an alibi,” Une said, startling everyone once more with her forceful way of speaking

“Does she?” Treize asked. 

“I saw her that night at the charity event uptown,” Une said. “If you remember, darling…” Treize blinked. 

“Of course,” Treize said with a nod. So these two saw her, Heero thought to himself. She hadn’t wanted to divulge that information for whatever reason, and he hadn’t pressured her later for more information. Heero pulled a small notebook from his pocket and jotted down a note to call Dorothy, along with several other details that had been mentioned thus far. 

“Has the reading of the will be done?” Zechs asked. Heero shook his head. 

“Not to my knowledge. I need to get in touch with his lawyer, though Dorothy didn’t seem very keen on my speaking with them,” Heero answered. 

“What do you mean?” Zechs asked, narrowing his eyes. 

“She wanted me in his office before they came to clean it out…” Heero said. The others exchanged glances. 

“Do you have any other information?” Treize asked Heero, who shook his head no. “Let us adjourn this meeting then.” He looked at Relena. “Dear, if you could keep in contact with Mr. Yuy, we can share information about this situation.” Relena bowed her head. 

“Of course.” 

Heero glanced at Relena to see that she had glanced at him. She gave him a small smile.

The trio was escorted from the home by the same large men who had escorted them in. Relena said good bye with the promise to be in contact again soon. They were driven back to Heero’s office, where they sat in silence, drinking and smoking, and contemplating. 

Heero was frustrated. They were nowhere closer to the truth than they were before.


	6. Chapter 6

Monday  
11:00 AM

Heero spent the weekend trying to get in touch with Dorothy Catalonia-Bocharov, but she was not answering her phone, and when Heero tried to call on her at home, he was told she was unavailable. Heero also did not hear from Relena again - he had hoped he would. And not in a business sense.

It wasn’t until Monday that Heero heard anything from anyone. He and Duo were in Heero’s office, drinking and smoking as usual, when someone knocked at his door. Duo threw the door open, revealing Relena on the other side. Heero was beginning to associate female suits with Relena, as she wore another one today, this time in black. She smiled.

“Hello, gentlemen,” she said as she stepped into the room. Sweeping her hair behind her shoulder, she glanced around. Heero saw her note the bottle of whiskey on the desk and the cigarettes in the ash tray. She raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Heero pushed himself up to stand.

“How can I help you?” he asked, feeling a little unsteady.

“Actually,” she said, stepping forward to sit in one of the empty chairs. “I’m here to help you. I have set up a lunch meeting with Quatre Winner,” she said. Heero and Duo glanced at each other.

“That guy who Bocharov worked with?” Duo asked.

“The same. He’s a friend of mine from way back. He agreed to talk to us about both Mr. and Mrs. Bocharov,” Relena explained. “If you two are ready, we can leave now.”

Heero shrugged his shoulders. He was buzzed, but there wasn’t much he could do now. Gathering up her notebook and pen, he threw his coat on. Duo did the same, and they followed Relena out to her waiting car. Once they were on their way, Heero took out his notebook and flipped through his notes about Mr. Winner.

“Did you have any luck this weekend?” Relena asked, drawing him from his thoughts.

“No. Dorothy has been MIA,” Heero answered. Relena frowned.

“Strange.”

“How did you meet this Quatre guy?” Duo asked.

“Our families have known each other for a long time. We also went to the same boarding school,” Relena explained. “I’ve remained friends with him, though it’s easy when he chose to never get involved with the family.” Heero lifted an eyebrow. He was very curious as to how deep Relena’s connections were with the mafia.

It wasn’t long before they reached a large office building. The car pulled up to the front door and Relena stepped out, followed by Duo and Heero. Inside, the front desk receptionist admitted them to the elevators, where they rode up to the tenth floor.

Stepping out of the elevator, Heero got some idea of the wealth that Mr. Winner had in his hands. In his opinion, the office was decorated and furnished better than any office had any right to be. Expensive woods lined the walls, the desks were beautiful pieces of craftsmanship, and the floors were marble. The employees on this floor were dressed in the finest suits, working and smoking cigarettes, and in some cases, cigars. A haze of smoke hung low over the entire room.

A young woman in a pencil skirt and blouse approached their group. Relena stepped forward and greeted the young woman. “Hilde. So happy to see you again,” Relena said, kissing Hilde’s cheek, while the other woman did the same. “This is Heero Yuy and Duo Maxwell. Gentlemen, this is Quatre’s assistant, Hilde Schbeiker.”

“Pleasure,” the woman said, smiling and giving them a stiff curtsey. “Right this way. Mr. Winner is ready for you.”

Hilde led them through the maze of desks until they reached a set of closed double doors. Hilde opened one of them. “Sir, Miss Relena and her friends are here.” Hilde leaned backed. “Go right ahead.”

Duo grabbed Heero’s shoulder and leaned close to him. “I’m gonna skip this meeting and schmooze with this babe,” Duo said. Heero gave Duo a dark look, but his friend ignored it. Duo took a seat in a chair across from Hilde’s desk while Heero and Relena disappeared into the room.

* * *

 

Heero wasn’t sure what he was expecting Mr. Winner to look like, but he was still surprised. The young man was slight and on the shorter side, with very fair hair and skin, and light blue eyes. He had a smiling face and upon their entrance, smiled widely and held out his arms.

“Miss Relena,” he crooned, stepping around his desk to engulf Relena in a hug. “It has been far too long.”

“I know,” Relena replied, kissing him on the cheek. “Darling, this is Heero Yuy and…” She paused, frowning.

“Duo met an unexpected distraction,” Heero said blandly. Quatre chuckled.

“No problem at all. Come, sit down, please,” Quatre said, gesturing to a table and chairs set up in the corner of the room. As Relena and Heero sat down, Quatre stuck his head out of his office to speak to Hilde, then joined them at the table. “The restaurant on the first floor has excellent food, so they’ll be sending up our meals. Until then, brandy?”

“Please,” Heero said, and Relena nodded. Quatre poured three glasses of brandy and served them.

“So, what brings you here on business?” he asked, looking to Relena.

“As you may have heard by now, Bartok Bocharov was found dead, strung up in the middle of one of his circus tents. Mr. Yuy here was hired by Mrs. Catalonia-Bocharov to investigate the murder. We know you had business arrangements with Bocharov, and were hoping you might be able to give us some leads,” Relena explained.

“I had heard - his lawyers called me about some unpaid debt,” Quatre said, his expression souring slightly. “Bocharov was a terrible business partner, but for some reason, I always fell victim to his various schemes. At one point, he owned some stock in the Winner Mining Corporation, but he sold his shares when he fell on hard times during the war. His company’s manufacturing was located in Poland, and once the Nazis moved in, he lost just about everything.”

The door to the office opened and a waiter walked in, pushing a cart laden with food. Quatre continued to talk while the food was served.

“I bailed him out of trouble several times,” Quatre continued. “At a low interest rate, too. But he never managed to repay me. If his lifestyle hadn’t continued to be so extravagant, then perhaps it wouldn’t have been quite as frustrating. It was two years ago now that I stopped helping him financially.”

“Why did you stop?” Heero asked.

“Other than the obvious reasons, we had a personal falling out,” Quatre said, and his steely gaze preventing Heero from asking more questions about that. “I have continued to encounter him on occasion, though we don’t have much to say to each other anymore.” Quatre paused here to take a few bites of his lunch. Heero looked to Relena and met her gaze, which seemed to indicate that she was thinking the same thing: there was a lot of animosity and bad blood between Quatre Winner and Bartok Bocharov.

* * *

 

“Mr. Winner didn’t say what this meeting was about,” Hilde commented, looking across the desk at Duo. “It’s rare that Miss Relena ever comes here with others.”

“My buddy Heero is a PI, and he’s investigating a murder,” Duo said, lowering his voice and leaning over the desk. Hilde’s eyes went wide, and she too leaned forward. Their voices dropped to conspiratorial whispers.

“Who died?”

“Bartok Bocharov.” Hilde gasped and her hands flew to her mouth. Duo blinked. He wasn’t expecting much of a reaction from her. “What is it?”

“He was murdered?” she asked, her voice serious. Duo nodded. “Oh my.”

“Do you know something, Miss Hilde?” Duo asked, doing his best suave voice. Hilde’s eyes darted around the room, then she leaned forward more and whispered,

“You didn’t hear any of this from me,” she began, and Duo nodded. “About two years ago, Mr. Bocharov was supposed to marry one of Mr. Winner’s sisters. The day of the wedding, he left her standing at the alter alone. He had disappeared.”

Duo’s mouth fell open. “That’s not everything,” Hilde continued. “After that, Mr. Winner wanted to get back at Mr. Bocharov some how. We eventually found out that the reason Mr. Bocharov didn’t show up at the wedding was because he had taken a trip to Europe. When he returned a few months later, he was married to Miss Dorothy.” At this point, a deep blush formed on Hilde’s cheeks. Duo reached over and patted her hand.

“You can tell me,” he said. She nodded tentatively.

“To get back at him, Mr. Winner seduced Miss Dorothy, and they had an affair. It went on for a few months, until Mr. Bocharov found out. There was a huge fight here in the office, and Mr. Bocharov was dragged away by the police. Mr. Winner didn’t press charges, but he stopped seeing Miss Dorothy. Everything has been quiet for about six months or so… except that now Mr. Bocharov is dead,” Hilde said. Duo’s mouth was still hanging open. He finally closed it and took a piece of paper from her desk and a pen, and proceeded to jot down notes from what Hilde had said. “No, no one can know I said anything!” she protested. Duo shook his head.

“Don’t worry. No one will. Heero needs to know this, though,” Duo said. When he finished, he folded up the paper and stuck it in his coat pocket. “You have given us some very valuable information, Hilde,” Duo said. “I promise that you won’t become involved in this mess.”

She smiled at him, the blush on her cheeks returning. Duo decided to take a chance.

“Could I take you out sometime?”

The blush on her cheeks darkened, but she nodded her head. “Sure.” She picked up another piece of paper and wrote down her number and slid it over the desk to him. “I’m free this Friday.”

Duo grinned. “Perfect.”


	7. Chapter 7

Monday  
8:30 PM

“Who knew that Maxwell’s general incompetence would actually get results?” Wufei commented, staring across the table at Duo, who shot him a dirty look. The trio, plus Relena, had gathered at Tim’s Billiards once Wufei was finished with work. Duo had saved his big reveal until he could tell everyone at the same time, and he was relishing in the surprised expressions on their faces. 

“Quatre never told me about any of that!” Relena said, an offended look on her face. 

“Probably for good reason,” Heero mumbled. “Someone high profile like him wouldn’t want that information getting out to the public.” 

“He has many connections,” Relena added. “He could squash any news article about himself if he really wanted to. I just never saw him as being capable of that sort of thing.” 

“Says the Little Dove of the Dioli family,” Wufei muttered, his dark gaze landing on Relena. She raised her eyebrows. Both Duo and Heero shouted for him to shut up. 

“Insulting the Little Dove comes at a cost,” she retorted with an angry flash in her eyes. Wufei pushed up from his chair and slammed his hands on the table. Duo threw his arm out and shoved Wufei back into his chair. 

“Cool your jets, Wufei,” Duo commanded. Wufei sank into his chair, mumbling to himself. Relena shook her head and rose from her chair.

“I should be going anyway,” Relena said, picking up her coat and drawing it on over her shoulders. She nodded to the boys. “Good evening.” She turned and began to walk towards the door. 

Heero watched her leave for a moment, then turned back to Duo. “Here,” he said, tossing a few bills on the table. “Take care of the check will ya?” He jumped up and followed after Relena. Behind him, he heard Duo catcalling, but ignored him. 

Outside the bar, Heero caught up with Relena, who was striding down the sidewalk towards her waiting car. “Wait!” he called out, causing her to stop and glance back over her shoulder. 

“What is it?” she asked, an annoyed expression still lingering on her face. Heero jogged to her. 

“Ignore Wufei. He’s always been that way and we’ve never been able to figure out why,” Heero said quickly. A smile returned to her face briefly. 

“Trust me Heero. I’ve dealt with worse men,” she replied. Her smile faded slightly, and she turned back towards her car. “Do you want a ride home?” she asked. 

“Sure.” 

Heero followed her and slipped into the backseat. The driver pulled the car away from the curb and they were off, rolling through the dark streets. 

“So what do you think about that information Duo got from Miss Hilde?” Relena asked, looking out the window. 

“It certainly throws a wrench into things,” Heero admitted. 

“I just don’t understand why he would lie,” Relena said. 

“Did you ever… have.. uh..” Heero tried to say, but his nerves were getting the best of him. Plus, he didn’t really want to know the answer. Relena turned to look at him, amused. 

“No. Quatre and I were raised like cousins. Which is why it’s so strange that he wouldn’t just tell me about that situation. I could have helped him,” she said, dismissing Heero’s attempt at a somewhat inappropriate question.

“Could be your connection with the Diolis,” Heero suggested. 

“Maybe.” She fell silent, her gaze returning to the window. They passed the next several minutes in silence, and Heero desperately wished he’d smoked a cigarette before getting into the car. He was beginning to feel a little anxious when the car pulled up alongside his apartment building. He released a breath of air and glanced at Relena. 

“Thanks for the ride,” he said, reaching for the door handle. She continued to stare at him. “Do you uh, want to come up for a drink?” 

She smiled. 

“Why not?” 

Heero stepped out of the car and held out his hand for her. She gripped it tightly as she stood up, asking her driver to wait a little longer. Heero led her to the door to his apartment, jammed the key in the lock and pushed open the door. The stale smell of booze wafted out and Heero cringed, hoping Relena wouldn’t notice. To his surprise, she stepped confidently over the threshold into the darkened living room. 

At least it was relatively clean. 

Heero walked into the kitchen and found two glasses, into which he dropped a few ice cubes. He brought the glasses back into the living room and opened the doors of his small bar, where he kept the good stuff. He quickly made two old fashions and handed one over to Relena. She took a sip, then perched herself on one of the squashy armchairs. Heero sat down in his favorite recliner. 

“What do you think you’ll do next?” Relena asked, after a moment of silence. Heero shrugged. 

“Drink on it,” he mumbled. “None of my leads are matching up. Either I’m looking in the wrong place, or someone is lying.” 

“You’ll let me know if I can be of further assistance, right?” she asked, leaning forward slightly. 

“Sure, of course,” Heero said, still not quite understanding why she was so interested in the case. Was it the case she was interested in? He recalled the conversation they’d had in the restaurant - when a crack in her tough exterior had appeared, and the discontent she felt with her life leaked out. 

Heero set his drink aside and stood up, alcohol in his veins making him bolder normal. Relena followed him with her eyes, and he held a hand to her. She let him take her’s, and he pulled her to her feet. 

“I don’t claim to know anything about women,” Heero began, still holding onto her hand. “so I hope I’m not misunderstanding you. But if you wanted to get out of this life, you could.” 

Relena looked taken aback, but she didn’t pull away from him. Her eyes searched his, still wide with surprise. Her lips parted.

“Heero…” 

Before any rational part of his mind could stop him, Heero leaned down and drew Relena into a kiss. So close to her, he could smell her perfume, and it filled his mind, making him a bit dizzy. Relena didn’t resist - on the contrary, she seemed to melt further into him. Her hands lifted and her palms laid flat against his chest, while he pulled her closer at the waist. He was about to take it a step further when she pulled back. Her face was flushed pink. 

“I shouldn’t have allowed that,” she mumbled to herself, averting her gaze to the side. Heero lifted her chin up so he could see her eyes. 

“Relena,” he breathed in a low guttural sound that he didn’t recall ever making before. Beneath his hands, she trembled. He leaned down and kissed her once more, and she allowed him to go further, parting her lips and deepening the kiss. Heero’s body lit up like fire, and it took every ounce of strength and willpower he had to pull away. He released her from his hold. 

“Heero,” Relena said, her eyes dancing, both with fear and passion. “I should go.” Heero nodded, understanding completely. He could do with some time alone. Relena reached out and grasped his hand for a moment, then released it and turned towards the door. “I’ll see you soon.” 

“Bye, Relena.” 

 

Tuesday  
6:00 am

The awful brrrinnngg of the telephone dragged a hung-over Heero out of sleep. He rolled over the side of his bed and stumbled in the dark to the phone. He lifted the receiver up to his ear. 

“Hello?”

“Ah, hello. Is this Heero Yuy, the private investigator?” 

“Yes.” 

“I’m Thomas, the ringmaster for the Bocharov circus. We met about a week ago… when... “

Heero pressed two fingers to the space between his eyebrows. “I remember.”

“Well, we have another problem,” Thomas said. 

“What is it?”

“Well sir, we uh, we found Mrs. Bocharov. She’s dead.” 

The words echoed painfully in Heero’s mind. Dorothy Catalonia-Bocharov was dead?

“She’s dead?” 

“Yes, sir. She’s tied to one of the poles in our dancer tent.” 

“I’ll be there soon,” Heero said, and hung up the phone. He briefly wondered where this guy got his phone number, but it was irrelevant. Heero dressed as quickly as he could and stumbled out of his apartment. It was still ungodly early, but Heero set out to find Duo and Wufei. He didn’t think he was in the right state of mind to handle this situation alone. 

He was lucky to find that Duo and Wufei had both crashed at Wufei’s place. He woke them up by pounding on the front door, and hustled the two out into Wufei’s car. 

“I think it’s against the law to be awake this early,” Duo moaned, his head leaning back against the seat. 

“Stop talking, Maxwell,” Wufei mumbled, somehow managing to drive towards the site of the circus through his bleary, half-open eyes. 

“What happened with you and Relena last night?” Duo asked. Heero, how was anxiously fiddling with his cigarette lighter, stopped abruptly and dropped the little silver device on the floor of the car. He leaned forward and picked it up. 

“Nothing,” he mumbled, but Duo shook his head. 

“Lying.” 

“I kissed her,” Heero admitted. “Twice.” 

His two friends made very different sounds: Wufei snorted and Duo cheered. 

“Alright, buddy!” Duo said, slapping Heero on the shoulder. 

“I’m pretty sure that counts as getting involved with the mafia,” Wufei said. 

“We’re not worrying about that right now,” Heero said, seeing the sign for the circus up ahead. “Right now, we’ve got another dead body.” 

“Which causes more problems,” Wufei agreed. 

Much to their chagrin, several cars with the “police” light on the roofs were parked in the parking lot of the circus. “Well shit,” Wufei and Heero said together. With heavy sighs, Wufei parked the car and they climbed out of the vehicle. They saw several police officers at the tent where they had seen the “After Dark” show when they investigated the circus the first time around. 

The ringmaster, Thomas, jogged to Heero’s side. “Thank you for coming. I didn’t want to call the police, but one of the performers did. I called you anyway, so you could see for yourself.” Heero nodded and allowed them to be led towards the tent. Before Thomas pushed the flap aside, he turned back. “This isn’t pretty, just to warn you.” 

He pushed the flap aside and allowed the three to enter. An officer was taking pictures of the scene, while two others were writing notes. Heero clamped his mouth closed when he saw the body. 

Dorothy Catalonia-Bocharov was naked, tied upside down on the dancer pole, and her neck was slit. This time, it looked like she had been killed in this spot, judging by the way the blood spilled over her neck and dripped onto the stage. 

Behind him, Heero could hear Duo retching outside the tent. Wufei remained beside him, his expression hard and impassive. 

Heero carefully reached into his pocket and drew out his notebook. He quickly sketched how she had been tied to the pole. The officers were staring at him strangely, but he ignored them, doing his own work. He walked around, hoping for some clue that might have been left. There were footprints in the damp grass, but by now, he wouldn’t be able to get ideas, since the police had already trampled over the spots. He was also beginning to get uncomfortable under the stare of the police officers, so Heero stepped back out of the tent, drawing Wufei with him. 

Outside, Duo was wiping his face with the inside of his shirt, looking very pale and sweaty. 

“That’s horrible,” he managed to say. Thomas patted Duo’s shoulder. 

“Yes, it is,” Thomas agreed. “You can imagine how the performer felt.” 

Heero narrowed his eyes. “Who found her?” 

“Catherine,” Thomas answered, gesturing towards the woman whom they had seen dance the first time they investigated the circus. She was standing with her brother, the clown. Heero felt an involuntary shudder run down his back. With a sigh, he glanced at his friends, then headed towards the siblings. 

“You found Mrs. Bocharov?” Heero asked as they approached. They nodded in sync. Heero couldn’t help noticing that Catherine was leering at him. He tried hard to keep from making eye contact with her, and instead focused on her brother. 

That proved to be useless. 

“Yes, we found her when we went to that tent to practice this morning,” Catherine answered. “It was a more horrible sight than Mr. Bocharov.” 

“What time was that?” Heero asked. 

“Around five this morning. Of course, we had to call the police, and tell the ringmaster, and the ringmaster had to dig up your information so he could call you as well,” Catherine explained. 

“Does anyone watch over the grounds at night?” Wufei asked. “You don’t have a fence or anything…” 

“It was at Mr. Bocharov’s request that we not erect a fence around the circus. He wanted it easily accessible to everyone. Although, as we told him many times, we experienced a lot of theft and vandalism,” Catherine said. “So no, no one watches the tents at night.” 

“Then no one would have seen anyone coming or going in the area last night,” Heero concluded. Catherine nodded. She took a step forward, bringing herself closer to Heero. He could smell her perfume and her sweat. His body froze. Catherine grabbed the lapel of his coat. 

“You are, of course, welcome to stake the area out at night,” she said, her voice husky and low. Heero could hear Duo trying to stifle a laugh behind him. “I’d be happy to be of any help.” 

Heero took a step back, his lapel slipping from her fingers. “That won’t be necessary - the help that is. We will discuss a possible stakeout with Thomas.” Catherine smiled, her lips turning up wickedly. Wufei gripped Heero’s shoulder in an almost protective manner.

“I think that’s all,” he said, and pulled Heero along, grabbing Duo’s arm at the same time. 

“I had more questions,” Heero protested. 

“You would have had to answer them while in a compromising position, and I couldn’t stand to watch anymore of that,” Wufei grumbled. 

“Can’t even get a bit of early morning entertainment,” Duo whined, and Wufei shot him a look. 

“Let me at least talk to Thomas one more time,” Heero said. He pulled out of Wufei’s grasp and headed over to the nervous ringmaster. 

“Did they help you?” Thomas asked. Heero nodded. 

“As much as they could,” he answered. “We may have to stake out the area at night sometime soon, just to see if there’s any activity in the area. Would that be alright?” 

“Of course,” Thomas said. He pulled a card from his breast pocket. “Just call me ahead of time.” 

“Thanks.” 

Wufei drove Duo and Heero to a diner so they could have coffee and breakfast. Sitting in a corner booth in a mostly empty diner, they leaned close. 

“I don’t trust those two,” Wufei said, a severe frown on his face. “They’re too suspicious. The brother didn’t even talk.” 

“There isn’t much evidence to link them to the murder,” Heero began to say, but trailed off as his memory reminded him that yes, there was some circumstantial evidence that it could be them. They were, after all, the ones who found both bodies. Not to mention, the leads linking Bocharov to the mafia were dead, and other than Relena’s friend Quatre, the circus was the only other link Heero had found to the man. And with Dorothy dead…

“I should just leave this to the police,” Heero said, leaning back in his seat. “I already have half the money Dorothy was going to pay me.”

Wufei shook his head. “Don’t give up that easily,” he said with disdain. “Don’t be as terrible of a PI as you were an officer.” 

“Oh, ouch Wufei,” Duo said, nudging Wufei in the side. “That’s harsh.” 

“Justice has to be served,” Wufei said. “We need to find out who killed these two, and stop them before they decide to kill anyone else. Beside, the police don’t even have information about Bocharov, and you do.” 

Heero looked down at the cup of coffee in front of him and sighed. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Wufei was right. He had been a terrible cop, and he was an even worse PI. Wufei had a habit of bringing to light one’s faults. 

“Alright, I won’t give up yet. We’ll look into the circus siblings and Mr. Winner, and see if there is anything there that looks suspicious.”


	8. Chapter 8

Wednesday  
10:00 am

Heero realized, sitting at his desk in his office, that he had no idea how to contact Relena. She’d always been the one to come to him with information. He needed to get in touch with Quatre again, to see if he could find any evidence that Quatre had been part of the murders. Their initial meeting with him hadn’t been very fruitful, and a small part of Heero wondered if it was because Relena was there. Quatre hadn’t told her about his conflicts with the Bocharovs, which told Heero that Quatre could still be hiding something. Heero needed to talk to the man without Relena around. 

Not getting anywhere in his office, Heero drew on his coat and left, heading towards Duo’s work. The weather was slowly warming, almost too warm for a coat. It was about time - Heero was tired of the dreary, cold, wet weather. 

At the mechanics shop, Heero found Duo underneath a pickup truck. Part of his legs and his feet were sticking out the side. Another mechanic was kneeling beside the truck, handing Duo tools. 

Heero didn’t immediately announce himself, but the mechanic nodded to Heero in greeting. Staring at Duo’s dirty boots, he had a thought. At Quatre’s office, Duo had been flirting with his secretary. Perhaps Duo had gotten some contact information from the girl. 

“Duo!” 

There was a clang of metal on metal, and the sound of a tool bouncing on the concrete floor. “Ow…” Duo mumbled, and pushed himself out from under the truck. He was rubbing his forehead. 

“I told you not to do that, man,” Duo complained. The other mechanic laughed. “What do you want?” 

“That girl from Quatre’s office…” 

“Hilde?” 

“Yeah, did you get her number?” 

“Well sure,” Duo answered. “I’m not that bad at picking up the ladies.” Heero rolled his eyes. 

“I need to get in touch with Quatre,” Heero said. 

“Why don’t you call Relena?” Duo asked, staring at him. Heero said nothing. “Ha! You don’t have a number for her!” 

“I don’t need your additional comments,” Heero mumbled. Duo laughed, then pushed himself up to his feet. 

“Here,” he said, and grabbed his coat from a counter. He fished out a piece of paper and handed it over. Before releasing the paper, he said, “Call from the office. Then bring this RIGHT back. I cannot lose it.” 

“Whatever,” Heero said, and snatched the piece of paper. There were two numbers on it - one for the office and one for her home. Heero stepped into the office, which was thankfully empty, and picked up the phone. 

He dialed the number and waited. 

“Quatre Winner’s office. This is Hilde speaking. How can I help you?” 

“Miss Hilde?” Heero said. 

“Yes?” 

“My name is Heero Yuy. I was at Quatre’s office with Relena Peacecraft two days ago…” 

“Oh yes, the private investigator! What can I do for you?” 

“I was wondering if Quatre had time to meet with me today, or sometime this week,” Heero said. “I uh, need to talk to him man to man.” Hilde made a noise of understanding and was silent for a moment. 

“Later this afternoon, around two, he is free. I’ll write you in,” she said. “Do you have the address?” 

“No, hang on.” Heero grabbed a dirty pad of paper and an even dirty pen and waited. “Ok.” Hilde rattled off the address of Quatre’s office building. 

“See you then! Tell Duo I said hello!” Hilde said in a cheery voice. Heero wanted to wince, but he instead said, 

“Sure thing. Thanks Miss Hilde.” 

Hanging up the phone, Heero stuffed the address in his pocket and walked out of the office. He handed over the paper to Duo. “She said hello.” Duo grinned. “I’m going over there at two. Want to come?” 

“Duh.” Duo said. “Wufei should be by later. His crap car is broken again.” 

“Guess I’ll just hang out here then,” Heero said, settling himself in a chair. 

Shortly before two in the afternoon, Heero called a cab, since Wufei’s car was torn half apart, and the three of them headed towards Quatre’s office building. On the way, Heero went over the questions he wanted to ask Quatre, and wondered idly if Relena had heard that Dorothy was dead. 

At the office, Duo once again choose to sit outside the office and flirt with Hilde while Heero and Wufei went inside. 

“Welcome, pleasure to see you again, Mr. Yuy,” Quatre said, offering the two men a glass of brandy. “I’m afraid I don’t know you,” he added, looking at Wufei. 

“Wufei Chang,” he said, shaking Quatre’s hand and giving him a look of disapproval. Heero wanted to kick Wufei, but Quatre didn’t seem to notice. 

“What brings you here?” Quatre asked, sitting down at the small table with them - the same table Heero had sat at with Relena. 

“Mrs. Dorothy Catalonia-Bocharov is dead,” Heero said. Almost imperceptibly, Quatre’s eyes widened. 

“That’s quite a shame,” he said. Wufei and Heero glanced at each other. It was one of the most insincere statements Heero had ever heard from a person. Heero repressed a sigh. 

“I won’t beat around the bush,” Heero began. “Relena said she hadn’t known any of the information you told us the other day. There are things you’re not telling your oldest friend.” Quatre blushed. “That’s why I’m here without her today. If you tell me everything you know, I won’t tell her any of it.” 

Quatre looked away, his face red, then sighed. 

“Alright,” he said. “You can’t tell her anything. I imagine she already thinks I’m a scoundrel.” 

Heero and Wufei waited, their arms crossed over their chests. 

“I didn’t have anything to do with either of their deaths, but I won’t lie and say that it’s a tragedy.” Quatre twisted his glass around in a circle, his eyes fixated on the clinking ice cubes. 

“Do you have alibis?” Heero asked. 

“Depends on when Dorothy was killed,” Quatre answered. 

“It would have been Monday night,” Heero answered, flipping through his notebook. The whole case was becoming a blur in his mind. “D’ya mind if I smoke?” Quatre shook his head and produced an ashtray. Heero slipped his cigarettes from his pocket and lit one. 

“Monday night - I was home. My household staff would be able to confirm that I didn’t go anywhere,” Quatre said. “And several of my sisters, if that’s enough for you.”

“I’m sure that would be fine. You should know that the police were informed about Miss Dorothy’s death. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before they find their way to you,” Heero said. Quatre sighed. 

“Thanks for the warning,” he said. “Honestly, gentlemen, I have nothing to gain from their deaths - except cold blooded revenge. Anyone who has known me can tell you that I’m not a cold blooded-revenge type of person - save for the affair with Dorothy - although she had her own part to play in that situation as well.” 

Heero couldn’t help but smirk. “That I believe.” A brief expression of relief crossed Quatre’s face. 

“I would be jeopardizing everything that my family has worked for by murdering someone, and I just couldn’t do that. There would not have been any monetary reason either - I accepted a long time ago that I will never see the money I lent to Bocharov,” Quatre continued while Heero made notes, and Wufei listened with his arms crossed over his chest. 

“You’ll understand if I can’t remove you from my list of suspects,” Heero said idly. Quatre nodded. 

“I do understand.” Heero tossed back the last of the brandy in his glass and rose, tucking away his notebook. 

“I think that’s everything, then,” Heero said. “I’ll be in touch if anything else comes up.” 

“Of course,” Quatre said, also rising. He shook Heero’s hand, then Wufei’s, and guided them to the door of his office. “It’s been a pleasure.” Heero nodded to the man, then left the office with Wufei close behind. Duo was leaning over Hilde’s desk, talking to her and making her giggle. 

“Let’s go, Maxwell,” Wufei growled. Duo straightened up while Hilde blushed a deep red. 

“Finished already?” Duo asked. Heero ignored him and led the way to the elevator. 

 

Thursday  
1:00 am

Heero hadn’t been in the mood to go to the bar with Wufei and Duo after the meeting with Quatre, so he went home to brood. With a bottle of his favorite whiskey in hand, he sank himself into his favorite chair and drank glass after glass until his throat burned and his mind went fuzzy. He listened to the radio until the broadcasts ended for the night, but didn’t get up to turn it off once the music was replaced with static. 

His intoxicated mind thought about each element of the case - faces and images swirled around in his mind, refusing to make any sense. He knew there must be other people who might want the man dead, but those people were still unknown to him. And Dorothy seemed to leave a trail of trouble behind her everywhere she went. Why did the clown and the dancer keep coming up during the investigations? Would they really want to kill the man who was financially backing their livelihood? 

In a blurred spiral, these thoughts went around and around in his mind for hours, until the bottle of whiskey was empty. His notebook lay forgotten on the side table, and several half-smoked cigarettes littered the ashtray. Heero let his eyes slip closed, determining that sleep would be the best thing for him. 

But sleep would elude him once again. 

His phone rang, cutting through the silence of his apartment like a knife. Heero jerked awake, his eyes blurry and unfocused, his heart racing in his chest. He pushed himself to his feet, stumbled, and made his way to the phone. The clock on the wall told him it was just after one in the morning. 

He fumbled for the receiver and pressed it against his ear. 

“Hello?” 

“Heero!?” It was Relena, her voice shrill and afraid. Heero’s mind cleared almost instantly. 

“Relena? What is it?” he asked, his heart still racing. 

“I was just attacked!” she said, and now, Heero could tell that she was, or had been crying. Protective instinct welled up inside of him, coupled with anger. 

“Where are you now?” he asked. 

“I’m home now,” she said. “I was on my way to meet my driver when it happened.” Heero relaxed only slightly. 

“Tell me everything,” he said, fumbling around for a piece of paper and something to write with. 

“I was walking alone from a restaurant, after meeting with someone. I knew the driver was waiting just down the road, so I started walking in that direction. The area did seem unusually dark. I was about halfway to the car when someone grabbed me from behind,” she said, her voice still trembling. Heero’s chest constricted in worry. “He was trying to pull me backwards, but I managed to pull his hands off me. He caught me again, and tried to pull me down the nearest alleyway. I was yelling and screaming, but no one else was around.” 

“Was it too dark to see any of his features?” Heero asked. 

“Yes, unfortunately. Once we were in the alley, I kept fighting him until his grip slipped again. I tried to run for it, then something went flying past me. Thank God it only caught the sleeve of my coat,” Relena said. 

“What was it?” 

“A knife.” 

“He threw a knife at you?” Heero asked, his eyes wide. 

“I guess so. But he missed, so I ran for it, all the way to the car. I jumped in the backseat and told the driver to get us out of there,” Relena said. Heero finished writing down notes. 

“And you’re safe at home?” he asked, and Relena answered to the affirmative. “Has anything like this ever happened to you?” 

“No,” she said. “I guess I was in an area of the city I don’t normally go…” Heero frowned, thinking, in spite of the alcohol that was still clouding much of his logical thinking. 

“Seems too suspicious to be a random accident,” Heero said. 

“You think so?” 

“Well, it’s just a feeling,” Heero admitted. He glanced down at the notes he’d taken. “Are you sure you’re okay?” 

“Yes,” she said, but Heero didn’t think she sounded one-hundred percent fine. “I’m just going to sleep. I’m sure I’ll feel better in the morning.” 

“Call me if you need anything,” Heero insisted. 

“I will,” she replied, and Heero could hear the smile in her voice. They said good bye and Heero hung up the phone. He tucked the notes from the phone call into his notebook and went into his room to slump onto his bed. The attack on Relena threw an extra problem into the case, though Heero had no proof that the two were connected. With new worries filling his mind, he drifted off to sleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Thursday  
12:00 pm

Heero stood in his office, looking at his wall. He’d spent a portion of the morning writing up all the strange occurrences that have happened with the case and stuck them to the wall, along with the timeline of the case. With a cigarette dangling from his lips, he tried to piece the bits together, but there still seemed to be something missing. 

He couldn’t shake the feeling that the circus siblings were somehow involved. For a pair who found who corpses in their tents, they were unusually calm and unfeeling about the situation. Heero felt like they did have motivation to kill Mr. Bocharov, but Dorothy? As far as Heero could figure out, she had nothing to do with the circus. None of the documents that Heero took from Bocharov’s office indicated that any of Dorothy’s money was tied up in this failing circus. And was it really better for the circus to fall apart because of the owner’s death, rather than for him to sell it off to someone else? 

And if Quatre wasn’t involved, then Heero still had no idea who would have the motivation to kill Dorothy. 

Heero crossed his arms and began to pace the office, occasionally removing his cigarette from his lips and blowing out long breaths of smoke. 

He was deep in thought when loud pounding on his office door startled him. He shook his head and stepped to the door and unlocked it. When he pulled it open, Duo and that girl, Hilde, burst into the room. 

“What are you doing here?” Heero asked, glancing at the two. Hilde’s face and eyes were red, and she seemed to be in a sort of panic. Duo’s hand was on her shoulder, perhaps trying to calm her down. 

“Something horrible has happened!” Hilde burst out, renewing a fresh batch of tears. Duo hugged her to his side. 

“Hilde called me at the shop not too long ago. Apparently Quatre Winner is being taken to the hospital. He was in a car accident this morning on his way to the office,” Duo explained. Heero narrowed his eyes at Duo. 

“A car accident this morning?” Heero repeated, turning back to his wall. His eyes landed on the scrap of paper that read ‘Relena attacked at night on the street.’ Heero ripped another scrap of paper and scribbled the words ‘Quatre Winner in car accident’ and stuck it on the wall next to Relena’s attack. 

“What are you doing?” Duo asked. 

“Trying to figure out what the missing piece is,” Heero said. “Relena was attacked last night, and Quatre was in a car accident this morning…” Duo raised his eyebrows. 

“She was attacked?” 

“Someone tried to drag her in an alley, and when she got away, they threw a knife at her,” Heero said. 

“Is she okay?” 

“She’s fine,” Heero said. Shaking his head briefly, he turned to Duo and Hilde. “Let’s go to the hospital. Do you know where he’s being taken?” Hilde nodded. Heero grabbed his notebook and his coat and followed the pair out of his office and up onto the street. 

A taxi took them to the hospital where Quatre was being treated. Hilde talked their way up to the emergency room waiting room, and the doctor was informed that Mr. Winner’s assistant was in the building, waiting for news about him. 

While they waited, a police officer arrived, looking for a doctor or a nurse to speak to about Quatre Winner. Heero approached him. 

“Did you arrive at the scene of the accident?” Heero asked. The office nodded, staring distrustfully at Heero. “I’m a friend of Mr. Winner’s,” Heero added. “Can you tell me what the accident looked like?” 

The officer glanced at Heero, Duo, and Hilde, then shrugged. “He was riding in the backseat of his Cadillac, on the right side specifically, because that is where the other car hit him. It looks like a normal accident, but the driver of the other car had disappeared,” the officer said. “We’re still trying to find out who owned the car that hit Mr. Winner.” 

“That seems awfully coincidental,” Duo muttered. The officer shrugged. 

“Not a very unusual accident, really,” he said. 

The group fell silent for a moment, while Heero resisted pulling out his notebook and writing down all the details that the officer had just shared, but he didn’t want to expose himself as a PI. Instead, they all sat down to wait on the doctor. 

After about an hour and several cups of bad hospital coffee, the doctor finally walked into the waiting room. The expression on his face wasn’t very hopeful. 

“Is Mr. Winner going to be alright?” Hilde asked, her hands pressed together at her chest, and more tears threatening to spill onto her cheeks. The doctor shook his head. 

“I’m afraid he lost too much blood, and his injuries were too severe. He didn’t make it,” the doctor said. A loud sob escaped from Hilde, and Duo pulled her against his chest as she cried. Heero crossed his arms over his chest. Quatre Winner was dead, and Heero just felt sure that it wasn’t an accident. 

Duo, Heero, and Hilde left the hospital. Duo stated that he was going to take Hilde home, so Heero flagged his own taxi and went back to his office. Before parting with Duo, he said, “Make sure to stay alert. Any of us could be targeted next.” 

 

Thursday   
7:00 pm

Heero hadn’t been able to get ahold of Wufei all afternoon, so he went to Tim’s Billiards, figuring his friend would eventually show up there. Heero hadn’t heard anything from Duo either, but there was a fairly good reason for that. 

When Heero entered the bar, he saw the bartender, Howard, standing behind the bar, sporting an ugly black eye. Heero approached the bar. 

“What happened to you?” Heero asked, starting to worry that somehow Howard was involved in this strange series of events. Howard gave Heero a sheepish look. 

“I missed my first payment to the Diolis’,” he said. “Those guys mean business.” Heero resisted sighing in relief.

“You need to get out of whatever deal you’ve made with them,” Heero urged, and Howard shrugged. 

“I know, but I’ve made more money in the last few weeks than I have in years,” Howard replied. 

“Next time, it won’t just be a black eye.” Howard smiled, but Heero could see the uncertainty behind it. 

“Don’t worry about me!” Howard said, then poured a shot of whisky out for Heero. “On the house.” 

It was Howard’s way of telling Heero that he was done with the conversation. Heero shook his head, threw back the shot, then ordered his usual drink and sat at a table in the back corner. 

He was only there for about twenty minutes before Wufei showed up. After grabbing a drink at the bar, and most likely giving Howard a similar speech about being involved with the mafia, Wufei joined Heero at the table. 

“I won’t be surprised if that guy ends up dead,” Wufei said, throwing a look at Howard. Heero cringed slightly. 

“That’s the least of our worries,” Heero said. “Since midnight, we’ve had one attack and one death, and I can’t help but feel like they’re connected to this case.” 

With Wufei’s full attention, Heero related the events of the day. Wufei’s expression grew progressively darker, and by the end of Heero’s tale, he looked angry. 

“These sound too suspicious,” Wufei agreed. 

“I know, but what am I missing?” Heero asked. 

“Are we sure we trust the Diolis’?” Wufei asked. 

“Why would someone from the family attack Relena?” Heero asked. Wufei shrugged his shoulders. 

“Maybe they don’t like that she’s been involved with you and the case. I wouldn’t put it past them to kill one of their own just to keep someone quiet,” he said. Heero couldn’t agree with that sentiment, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a possibility.

“I don’t know about that, Wufei…” 

“Maybe you can get another meeting with the underboss, that Treize guy,” Wufei said. “Though I doubt he would tell you the truth if he did know something.” 

“I suppose it’s worth a try… I’m sure Relena could get us another meeting with him.” Heero turned to look at Wufei. “But until we figure this out, you need to be on your guard. We’re all in danger.” Wufei nodded, understanding completely, and for once without snark.


	10. Chapter 10

Friday  
10:00 am

Still without a way to contact Relena, Heero could do little but wait until she contacted him again. He knew he should have asked her for a phone number when she called him last, but he’d been too drunk and too much in shock to think about that detail. 

But he didn’t have to wait long. He was in his office, still musing over the case, when she paid him a visit. She stepped into the office without knocking and locked the door behind her. She was looking worse for wear - she wasn’t in her usual business outfit, and her face was carrying some heavy bags under her eyes. 

“Relena, are you alright?” Heero asked, circling his arms around her shoulders. She allowed herself to be pulled against his chest. 

“I have just been having trouble sleeping since the other night,” she admitted, somewhat sheepishly. “I even had to ask my brother for a few goons to guard my room and windows at night.” 

“I don’t blame you,” Heero said. He felt certain that nothing like this had ever happened to her before. “Your safety is important.” She didn’t reply, but rested her cheek against his chest, her eyes closing. Heero remained still, holding her. 

“Relena,” he said after a few minutes. “I really hate to ask, but have you heard about Quatre?” She pulled away from him slightly, to look up at his face. 

“No?” 

Heero cringed inwardly. He didn’t want to be the bearer of bad news, but there wasn’t much he could do. Taking a deep breath and releasing it slowly, he said, “Quatre was killed yesterday in a car accident.” 

For a moment, Relena was silent. Heero chanced a look down at her face. Her eyes were wide and her mouth had dropped open. Over several seconds, her eyes filled with tears. Finally, she looked up at him. 

“Quatre’s dead?” she asked, her voice already thick and trembling. Heero pressed his lips together and nodded. Relena was silent for several moments, her face unreadable. Eventually, the tears filled her eyes and spilled over onto her cheeks. Heero pressed his thumbs to her cheeks and wiped the tears away, and he pulled her back against his chest. Relena sobbed for several minutes, her chest heaving.

The guilt weighed heavily on Heero, despite his rational mind telling him that he had nothing to do with any of the deaths thus far. They were all becoming victims of circumstances beyond their control. 

But Heero was determined to take control. 

 

Friday  
4:00 PM

After Relena had calmed, she called her brother from Heero’s office and set up a meeting with him and Treize, at Heeros’ suggestion. She called and arranged a car to pick them up later that day, to take them back to the Dioli estate. 

“I don’t think the family is part of it,” Relena said, chewing on her thumbnail. It was an odd sight to see her a little undone at the seams. “I still don’t see how any of these deaths would benefit them.” 

“No one has any personal biases?” Heero asked, and Relena shrugged her shoulders. 

“That’s always possible - it’s human nature. I suppose that someone could be doing these things without the approval of Treize, but that’s frowned upon,” she mused. The cigarette between her fingers had burned down, so Heero plucked the end out from her fingers and lit her a new one. She drew it to her lips and took a long drag. The high color in her cheeks was finally abating, and her hands had stopped shaking. 

Heero leaned back in his chair and picked up his notebook to flip through the pages once more. Relena watched him while she blew smoke towards the ceiling. 

“There’s a piece missing,” Heero said, his voice low. He narrowed his eyes and flipped between a few pages, over and over. “Something important.” 

“But what?” Relena asked. 

“I don’t know.” 

Relena started to speak, but a knock on the door interrupted her. She snubbed out her cigarette and rose from the chair. “That’ll be the driver,” she said. Heero nodded and stowed his notebook in his pocket and drew on his coat. Relena opened the office door to admit the driver - Heero recognized him vaguely as having driven Relena before. It was the older man with heavy eyebrows and graying hair. 

“Ready, Miss Relena?” the driver asked. 

“Yes, Pagan,” Relena answered. She buttoned her coat and followed Pagan from the office with Heero close behind. He locked the door to the office and they climbed the steps back to the street. Pagan opened the door to the car for them, and they slipped in the backseat. Heero couldn’t help but notice how close Relena sat beside him. Pagan returned to the driver’s seat, and they pulled away from the curb. 

The drive to the Dioli compound didn’t seem to take as long as it did before, although this time, Heero had the benefit of Relena’s company. She kept up a steady stream of questions, seemingly intent on getting to know him better. He answered the best he could. She would make various facial expressions after he answered certain questions, and he wondered if she was passing judgement. 

Since the rain had let up, there was less mud leading to the gated driveway of the compound. As Pagan rolled up to the tall, metal gate, they swung open slowly, admitting them. Heero stared out the window, trying to take in more details than he had noticed before. The gardens were extensive, and he could imagine that they’d be very beautiful once the weather warmed. He also noticed that the house seemed to stretch on forever, and Heero could just imagine that there were many people who called this place home. Relena included. 

The car rolled to a stop the front door. A few men in black descended the front steps and opened the back door of the car. Heero stepped out, with Relena close behind. 

“Welcome home, Miss Relena,” one of the men said. Relena bowed her head to acknowledge him, but continued into the house without speaking. Heero followed behind, glancing over his shoulder at the rather large men who were staring him down. 

Milliardo greeted them just inside the front doors. He was dressed more casual this time, with a black sweater pulled over a white collared shirt. Heero had forgotten just how long his hair was. 

“Little sister,” Milliardo said, holding a hand out to Relena. She took it and he pulled her into a hug. 

“Is Treize ready for us?” she asked him. Milliardo nodded. 

“He is, but I don’t know how much more help we can be.” As he said this, Milliardo shifted his gaze from Relena to look at Heero. Though his eyes were an icy blue color, Milliardo’s gaze was soft, friendly. 

“There may be something we missed,” Heero shrugged. Milliardo said nothing, but turned and led the way back through the house. As they walked, Relena looked over her shoulder and gave Heero a smile. It eased some of his tension. 

Inside the same office they had sat in previously, Treize was sitting behind his desk, writing something in a ledger. When the door opened, Treize looked up and smiled. 

“Welcome back, Mr. Yuy,” Trezie said, rising from his chair and extending a hand. Heero shook the man’s hand before sitting down on one of the couches. Relena and Milliardo sat opposite Heero, and Treize sat back down. “How can I be of service?”

“I was hoping to go over a few details with you. This case is becoming more serious, with the deaths of Dorothy Catalonia-Bocharov and Quatre Winner, along with the attack on Relena. I thought maybe we might have missed something during the first questioning,” Heero said. Treize leaned back in his chair and tapped his chin. 

“Unfortunately, I’m forced to reiterate that at the very least, I have not ordered the deaths of any of these people,” he said. Heero frowned. He talked of killing people like he was ordering new bedsheets. “However, I am forced to admit that I also have no real reason to be honest with you.” 

Relena made a noise of protest, but Milliardo dropped a hand on her shoulder, silencing her. Heero narrowed his eyes at the man. 

“I understand that,” Heero said. Relena brushed away Milliardo’s hands. 

“Please, Treize,” Relena begged, rising up from her seat, her hands pressed against her breast. “They’ve already attacked me once.”

“How can you be sure it is the same people?” 

“Who else would it be?”

Treize smiled. 

“You have many enemies, my dear.” 

“Treize.” Milliardo spoke his boss’s name with a finality in his tone. Treize held his hands out to his sides. 

“My friend is putting me in my place,” Treize said. “I swear I have nothing to do with any of these deaths, and I most certainly wouldn’t set anyone to attack my Little Dove.” Relena breathed in relief and sat back down, her cheeks still slightly pink. Heero wasn’t satisfied.

“Do you know of any other… associations… in the city that might want to attack this particular group of people?” Heero asked. To his credit, Treize actually stopped to think. 

“I don’t believe so,” he answered. “No other underground associations get into this city without me knowing.” He’s awfully confident, Heero thought. “As I’ve said, I have no ideas as to who is behind this.” Both Heero and Relena sighed, accepting his lack of knowledge. “It is unfortunate, I know. I implore you both to stay alert until this mess is cleaned up.” 

“Thank you,” Heero said, barely meaning the words. 

 

A different man drove Heero back to his office. Relena had come along, citing some business that needed to be taken care of nearby. Heero was about to head back down the steps to his office door when Relena climbed out of the car behind him. 

“Wait Heero,” she said. Heero froze, and she appeared at his shoulder. “Be careful, please. I don’t want to hear that you were found dead somewhere.” Heero turned to face her, a small smile on his face. 

“Don’t worry about me,” he said, brushing her cheek with his knuckles. “I’ll be fine.” Relena bit her lower lip, but she nodded. Before returning to her car, Relena pushed herself up on her tiptoes and planted a quick kiss on his lips. Before Heero even realized what happened, she was back inside the car, and it rolled away from the curb. Heero watched the car disappear down the street with some aching in his chest. 

 

Sunday   
7:00 pm

After a sufficiently unproductive weekend, Heero was ready to smother his thoughts in alcohol. He’d already drank enough to be lightly toasted, and with some difficulty, made his way to Tim’s Billiards. 

He’d spent the whole of Saturday staring at his wall of notes, trying to find the missing pieces. But nothing was coming to him. Words from his past echoed in his mind, reminding him of why he’d failed in the police force, and why he was failing as a private investigator. His father had always told him that he wasn’t a leader, nor was he much of a follower. So where did that leave him? 

Heero was starting to think he’d need to hang up his badge after this case and move on to some other career. Maybe Duo’s boss would hire him to work on cars. At least it would be more productive than his PI business. 

With a heavy heart, Heero stepped inside Tim’s Billiards. Inside the bar, the crack of pool balls and loud chatter of patrons filled his ears. Heero pulled his coat off his shoulders and slung it over his shoulder, looking around to see if Duo or Wufei had arrived yet. He spotted them in the back, at the usual table. Hilde was at the table with them as well. Heero wound his way through the tables and dropped into a chair beside Wufei. 

“Hey buddy,” Duo said, raising a hand. “Have we got a story to tell you!” Heero lifted an eyebrow and glanced at Wufei. 

“Am I going to want to hear this?” 

“Actually, you will.” After ordering a drink, Heero leaned forward on the table. 

“Okay, shoot.” 

Duo gestured to Hilde. “Go ahead.” 

“Yesterday night, I was walking home from my parents’ place. I was just walking along, minding my own business, when a dark shadow passed over my head. I thought it was a bat or something at first, but it was way too big to be an animal. I kept walking, and I heard footsteps coming after me. I spun and pulled my derringer out of my pocket. There were two people running at me in the dark. I was about to shoot, when they both jumped up into the air and flipped over my head, twirling around in the air. I fired my gun at them, but missed and hit the building. I don’t think they were expecting that, cause they turned tail and ran,” Hilde explained, her eyes dancing with excitement the entire time. 

Heero began to shake with anticipation. An acrobatic assailant? He pulled his notebook from his pocket and flipped through, his mind already filling with images of the circus siblings, their expressionless faces telling him about finding the dead bodies of Bocharov and his wife on the circus grounds. He could never let them go as suspects, but there didn’t appear to be any other leads linking them to the deaths. 

“Luckily Hilde wasn’t injured,” Duo said, giving a dark look at Heero, who was already absorbed in his notes. Wufei shook his head. 

“He’s on to something. Just leave him be,” Wufei said. 

“Did I say something important?” Hilde asked, still looking excited. Duo shrugged his shoulders. 

“Who else do we know that would flip through the air over someone’s head?” Heero asked, looking up at his two friends. Wufei and Duo glanced at each other, then realization passed over their faces like dawn. 

“Those circus weirdos!” Duo shouted. Heero pointed at him as if to say ‘bingo.’ “But why would they be coming after people like Quatre and Hilde? They only know about us, and they haven’t even attempted to attack one of us yet.”

Heero nodded his head, a hand pressed against his chin.

“Unless they have someone watching us,” Heero mumbled, hoping it wasn’t true. He looked around the bar suspiciously, but there were no out-of-place faces in the crowd. 

“Just seems strange,” Wufei said, his arms crossed over his chest. “There really isn’t much linking us all together, except these deaths.” 

“I want to stake out the circus. Maybe we can set up bait or something, try to draw them out of the shadows,” Heero suggested. “At least then we’d have proof that those siblings are behind it.” 

“Do you think that ringmaster has anything to do with this?” Wufei asked. “He seemed pretty dazed when both the bodies were found.” Heero shook his head. 

“I don’t think so. You could tell from his eyes that he wasn’t lying.” 

Heero looked back down at his notebook while the waitress refilled their drinks. The circus siblings - Trowa and Catherine. He could understand perhaps their desire to kill the Bocharovs, since the circus was failing, but why go after Relena, Hilde, and Quatre? Quatre had only lent Bocharov money, and wasn’t involved in the circus. So why? There had to be someone behind the scenes, ordering them around. 

But who?


	11. Chapter 11

Monday  
6:00 pm

With winter in the rearview mirror, the time that the sun set was getting later and later. Heero, Duo, and Wufei couldn’t stake out the circus until the sun had set, so all he had to do was wait. 

And Heero was finding every minute that passed to be extremely difficult. 

He’d wanted to make sure he was sharp for the evening, so instead of whiskey, he’d been downing coffee, black and bitter. He’d chain smoked about seven cigarettes in a short amount of time, just wanting to be moving around, doing something. 

The cigarettes only helped to quell the shakes a little. He mildly acknowledged that he might have a problem. 

Lost in thought, the sound of his phone ringing scared him, enough to flinch and drop his cigarette on the floor. He stubbed it out with his foot and picked up the receiver. 

“Hello?”

“Heero, it’s Relena.” 

“Relena.” 

“Are you sure about this stake out?” she asked. She had contacted him earlier in the day, and he’d told her about their plan. 

“It’s the only way to find out if those two are up to something,” Heero said. 

“What if something happens?”

“I have police training,” Heero said. “Wufei grew up learning and practicing martial arts. We’ll be fine.” 

“I hope so. What are you expecting to find?” 

“Hopefully the siblings will leave the circus grounds and we can follow them, to see if they’re going after other targets as well, or just us,” Heero explained. He heard Relena sigh on the other side of the line. “I promise everything will be alright.” 

“If you’re sure. Will you call me after it’s over?” 

“I don’t have a number to call you at,” Heero said. Relena let out a nervous giggle.

“Of course. Here.” She rattled off the number. “That’s to my rooms at the estate. Call me as soon as you get home.” 

“I will,” Heero said. They said good bye, and Heero hung up the phone. He stared down at the phone number he now held between his fingers, and wondered what it all meant. 

 

8:45 pm

Wufei parked his car about a mile from the circus grounds, hiding it among some bushes and trees. All three dressed in black, they climbed from the car and quietly closed the doors. For once, Duo wasn’t chattering on and on, and Heero assumed he must be feeling nervous. That was about the only time Duo managed to close his mouth for longer than a few minutes. 

In the darkness, the three made their way towards the circus grounds. It had been a decent night, so the parking lot nearby was full of cars, though it appeared that the attendees were heading home. A stream of adults and children were leaving the circus grounds, heading for the parked cars or walking towards the sidewalk that would lead them closer to the main roads. Lights still burned all around the parameter of the circus, lighting up the area, almost as bright as daytime. 

Heero led Duo and Wufei around the parameter, avoiding the lights. It took longer than expected, as they had to dodge and avoid people. Surely someone would blow their cover if they noticed a couple of men in black creeping around a circus. 

Crouched on the ground beside a tent, Heero watched as Duo lifted up the canvas and peek his head underneath. “Hey, this one is empty,” he whispered, and disappeared. Heero and Wufei shrugged and followed him inside the tent. 

It seemed like it was only meant for storage. There were wooden crates stacked up inside, and the floor was muddy, covered in hay. Heero rose and stretched his legs, then ran his hands along the canvas, looking for the flap in the tent. He found it, and pushed it open, just enough for him to peer out. 

A few men were walking along the alleys of tents, encouraging people to come back the following day. Parents pulled on the hands of their children, guiding them away from the sideshows and other attractions. A nearby food stand was closing up, the air still lingering with the smell of sugared almonds. Heero pulled back inside the tent. 

“We should try and make it to the big top. That’s probably where we’ll find them,” he said. 

Heero peered back through the tent flap and looked around. The coast was clear. He motioned with one hand for Duo and Wufei to follow, and he slipped through the flap. Silently, they made their way along the alley, staying inside the shadows cast by tents. They crept like this for several minutes, until they finally spotted the big top. A few performers were still milling around outside the tent, some still in their costumes. Heero saw the ringmaster talking with some older man, looking over a ledger. 

Heero was about to give the order to move when he saw the siblings emerge from another tent. They were dressed in regular clothes, though in the light, Heero could see that Catherine’s exposed skin still shone with glitter. The ringmaster hailed them, and they crossed the grass towards him. 

“There they are,” Heero breathed. “Let’s get closer, in case they move again.” 

Wufei led the way around the backside of the tent they were hiding beside, and emerged in shadow near the big top. The ringmaster was still talking to Catherine and Trowa. 

“Hey, look,” Duo whispered, pointing behind them. 

A dark colored car was rolling across the grass, its headlights off. The three men backed up further into the shadows. Trowa and Catherine looked away from the ringmaster towards the car, then shared an expression. 

“Please, excuse us a moment. I believe one of our fans has returned for an autograph,” Catherine said to the ringmaster in a falsely cheerful voice, who nodded and moved away to speak to another group of performers. 

As Trowa and Catherine approached the car, the back door opened and a woman stepped out. In the little light shining from the circus grounds, Heero could just make out her facial features. 

He felt Duo and Wufei tense as they too recognized her. 

Lady Aria-Une Dioli. 

Trowa and Catherine gave her a short bow, and she began to speak quickly in low whispers. Heero wished he was closer, so he could hear what she was saying. 

“Look at the woman,” Wufei whispered. Heero glanced at Catherine, who was twirling a small dagger around her fingers. Relena’s recount of her attackers rang through Heero’s mind. 

I tried to run for it, then something went flying past me. Thank God it only caught the sleeve of my coat.

“It has to be them,” Heero growled. Now that he knew Catherine and Trowa were behind the attacks, Heero just needed to know why the wife of the Dioli family’s don was sneaking around with them in the middle of the night. 

“We should leave,” Heero said, looking back at them. “We can’t hear what they’re saying, and we won’t be able to follow Une once she drives away.” 

“We could follow the siblings,” Wufei protested, clearly itching for some action. Heero shook his head. 

“We have an upper hand here. We need to go back to Treize again and talk to him,” Heero said. Wufei and Duo conceded, and as silently as possible, they slipped away from the circus and back to Wufei’s waiting car. 

 

It was quite late when Heero arrived home, and he was aching for a drink. Inside his liquor cabinet, he found a bottle of whiskey with just enough for a shot. He grabbed it, unscrewed the cap and sucked it down. For a moment, he stared at the phone, wondering if he should try calling Relena. It was late, but she didn’t seem to care if he called her in the middle of the night. It actually seemed like she had insisted on it when he spoke to her earlier. 

Heero pulled her phone number from his pocket and picked up the phone. He dialed her number and waited while the line buzzed on the other end. 

“Heero!?” Relena asked immediately after picking up the phone. 

“You’re still awake?” he asked.

“Oh, there was no way I was going to be able to sleep,” she said. “I was too worried. So what happened?” 

“I think we found a major lead,” Heero said, seating himself in his favorite chair. “You’ll never guess who we saw talking to the suspicious circus siblings.” 

“If it was my brother, I’ll kill-”

“It wasn’t him,” Heero interrupted. “It was Treize’s wife.” 

“Une?” Relena asked, her voice cracking in a strange mixture of laughter and horror. “What would she have to do with a couple of circus performers?” 

“I don’t know. We couldn’t hear what she was saying to them. But while she was talking, Catherine was playing with a dagger, and I have a suspicion that she was the one who threw a knife at you.” 

“Hmm….” Relena mumbled darkly. “I’ll confront Treize tomorrow morning, and then I’ll head to your office and we can talk about this.” 

“I probably won’t make it to the office tomorrow,” Heero said, the ache behind his eyes getting worse. The little shot of whiskey wasn’t doing much for him. “Swing by the apartment, if you can.” 

“Alright,” Relena said. “Get some sleep.” 

“You too.” 

Heero hung up the phone and sighed. Lifting his hands in front of him, he watched them shake and twitch. There wasn’t even a point to leaving the apartment - no stores were open this late, and there were no bars within a short walk. He didn’t think he could make it that far anyway. Instead, Heero pushed himself up off the chair and collapsed in his bed, not even bothering to undress.


	12. Chapter 12

Tuesday  
10:00 am

Heero reached out, still half asleep, trying to stop whatever was making that awful pounding noise. With effort, he opened his eyes and saw the morning light streaming through the windows in the livingroom. Someone was knocking on his door. Heero groaned and pulled himself up into a sitting position. He felt horrible. He was shaking still, his heart racing, and he was unpleasantly sweaty, though his apartment wasn’t even warm. 

Making his way to his feet, he crossed the apartment and threw open the front door. It was Relena, wearing a simple pink dress with a large white hat on her head. She had a bag looped over her arm. 

“Good morning!” she said, the cheeriness in her voice grating against Heero’s addled mind. 

“Hn.” He stepped aside to let her in the apartment, and shut the door. She was looking at him expectantly, but he had no idea what she could want. 

“You look terrible, Heero,” she said. Heero grunted again. “Are you sick?” 

“Not necessarily,” he said. “I uh, haven’t had a drink in a day.” 

A strange expression formed on Relena’s face, and she looked at him with pity. From inside her bag, she withdrew a thermos. “Well, I don’t know if this will help, but I brought you some coffee, and a little breakfast too, if you can.” 

He could have kissed her. 

“Just give me a minute.” Heero shuffled to the bathroom and closed the door. He stripped off a few layers of clothing and splashed cold water on his face several times. He closed his eyes for a moment, hoping the world would stop spinning. He straightened his shoulders and stepped back into the livingroom. 

Relena had removed some bagels and pastries from her bag, setting them on napkins on the little coffee table by the couch. Heero slumped down into his chair and leaned forward, bracing himself with his elbows on his knees. Relena smiled at him and handed over the thermos of coffee. Heero took it gratefully and took a long drink, then pulled a cigarette from his pocket and lit it. Relena perched herself on the couch. 

Heero reached for a bagel and took a bite. He knew it tasted good, but the texture of the bagel was thick and unpleasant in his mouth. 

“I’m going to talk to Milliardo and Treize today about what you saw,” Relena said. “I’ll do it alone this time, I think.”

“Is Treize tired of being harassed?” Heero asked through a mouthful of bagel. Relena shook her head. 

“Actually, he quite likes you,” Relena answered with a grin. Heero raised an eyebrow. “It’s just a sensitive issue - since Une is the genetic relation to the Dioli. Accusing her of something like this has consequences. If it’s just me, no one will do anything to me.” 

“Are you sure about that?” 

Relena nodded. “I bring in too much money,” she said simply. “Anyway, I have a standing appointment with Treize on Tuesdays anyway, so I’ll bring it up then. Can we plan on meeting this evening at that bar you like so much?” 

“That’s fine,” Heero said. He attempted another bite of the bagel, and it went down slow and unpleasantly. Watching him for a moment, Relena stood and walked into his small kitchen. He heard her fumbling around in the cupboards for a moment, then the tap turned on. She returned to his side with a glass full of water. He thanked her quietly and sucked back half the glass. He could feel her watching him the whole time. 

“So what made you put down the bottle for a day?” Relena asked, sitting back down on the couch across from him. Heero swallowed the bagel with the help of the water. 

“I needed to be lucid last night for the stakeout,” Heero mumbled, averting his eyes from her. He knew he had a problem - he just didn’t like talking about it. 

“Are you going to keep it up?” she asked. Heero shrugged his shoulders. 

“This hangover might kill me,” Heero said, and took another bite of the bagel, washing it down with coffee and water. The bagel was heavy in his stomach, but he needed to put some food in his stomach. 

“I think there’s a brilliant mind in there, Heero Yuy. You’re just hiding it behind the bottle,” Relena said, crossing her arms over her knees. “Why is that?” Heero knew he didn’t have an excuse, and he wasn’t going to lie to Relena. Instead, he lowered his gaze and said nothing, allowing her to make up her own inferences. “If you want help stopping, I could help you. Your business would be more profitable…” 

“Don’t you sell drugs?” Heero asked. Relena frowned. 

“Don’t try to take the moral high ground with me,” she said, somewhat fiercely. “Yes, I do sell drugs, and I make a lot of money doing it. But I don’t care about those people like I care about you-” 

She cut herself off abruptly and looked away. Heero glanced up to stare at her. Relena refused to make eye contact. 

“You care about me?” Heero asked. He saw her face turn pink, then red. “Relena…” Heero rose from the chair, trying to keep himself from swaying. Relena remained planted on the couch. He stepped around the coffee table and sank down beside her, his arm and leg touching hers. “No one has cared about me in a long time, except maybe Duo and Wufei… but that’s different.” Slowly, Relena turned towards him, angling her body towards him. 

“I just think you could be more successful,” Relena said, meeting his eyes with a shyness he’d never seen in her before. 

“Probably,” he mumbled. Relena patted his arm, then checked her watch. 

“I have to go. I have another meeting across town,” she said. Heero didn’t really want her to leave. “Just think about it, okay? I could help you get the best resources.” 

“I’ll think about it,” he said, only half promising. Relena smiled and leaned over, her lips brushing against his. 

“I’ll see you later today,” she said, and rose from the couch. Heero watched her go, leaving through the front door with a smile and wave a goodbye. Heero shifted on the couch and allowed himself to drift back to sleep. 

 

Tuesday  
5:30 PM

Heero slumped into the Tim’s Billiards, still feeling like shit. The day had warmed considerably, but the humidity was high, which just made Heero’s hangover worse. He was sorely tempted to get drunk at the bar, but with Relena’s insistence that she cared about him hanging over his head, his desire to drink was clouded by guilt. But she’d never really known him sober; maybe she wouldn’t like that version of him. 

Inside the bar, the ceiling fans were spinning as fast as possible, trying to keep the damp air moving. Most patrons inside had shed layers of clothes, some men having stripped down to bare chest and slacks. It didn’t help with the smell. 

Just as Heero was about to make his way to the table in the back, Duo and Hilde walked through the doors behind him. 

“Hey buddy,” Duo said, clapping Heero on the shoulder. “How’re you feeling?” Instead of answering, Heero just groaned, which made Duo laugh. “Ah, just take a shot of whiskey. You’ll be fine. Hey-” Duo craned over the crowd towards the bar. “Where’s Howard?” 

Heero followed Duo’s line of sight to the bar. Sure enough, there was a different bartender behind the counter, refilling drinks and wiping down spills. Duo pushed through the crowd up to the counter. Heero followed. 

Duo waved down the bartender, who headed towards him. “Hey, where’s Howard?” Duo asked over the noise. The bartender’s expression fell. 

“You didn’t hear?” he asked. “Howard disappeared. No one knows where he is.” Duo and Heero stared at the bartender, their mouths open. “He didn’t show up for work a few days ago. Boss sent someone over to his place, but it was empty.” 

“Did it look like a break-in?” Heero asked. 

“Not that I heard. I know he had some shady deal going on with the D-” the bartender cut himself off, his eyes shifting back to the counter. “Can’t talk now.” 

“Why?” Duo asked, but Heero knew. He’d turned to see that Relena had just walked into the bar. A general hush fell over the bar for a moment, then the noise built back up again. Heero grabbed Duo’s shoulder. 

“Come on,” he said, and pulled Duo away from the counter. 

“You think Relena had something to do with this?” Duo asked in a harsh whisper as Heero dragged him to their table in the back, where Wufei, Hilde, and Relena were already seated. 

“She’s not technically part of the family,” Heero said. “Plus cars aren’t really her department.” 

“Still -” 

“I’ll talk to her.” 

After ordering a round of drinks, Heero, Wufei, and Duo rehashed the events from the previous night, discussing minute details that they might have overlooked. After several minutes, Wufei interrupted the conversation. 

“But why would that woman have any interest in killing Bocharov, if the circus has no connection to the Diolis?” 

All eyes turned to Relena, who had been sitting silently the whole time. She shook her head. 

“I talked to Treize again, this time with no one around. He doesn’t know why Une would have any interest in the Bocharovs or the circus performers,” Relena said. “But they’ve been targeting us, too, because we’ve been involved in the investigation. There’s something missing - someone is lying. Why would Quatre have been murdered, too? He didn’t have anything to do with this.”

“He may not have needed much connection to the case to be a target,” Duo said. 

“We still don’t have proof that Quatre is part of this. It really could have been a random accident, or someone else out to get him. He was a powerful businessman - I’m sure he had enemies of his own,” Heero said, his eyes on his notebook. Under the table, someone stomped on his foot. He jerked his foot back with an irritated grunt. When he looked up, he saw that Hilde’s eyes had gone misty, and she was looking down awkwardly at her drink. Duo was scowling at him. “Sorry…” Heero mumbled. 

“Heero has a point, however,” Relena interjected. “If Quatre was going to be a target for business reasons, I would have known. They all know that Quatre has always been like family to me.” Relena reached out and patted Hilde’s hand. 

“So it’s personal?” Wufei asked. No one at the table answered. Heero glanced around the table. He was still fighting a hangover headache, but his mind felt cleaner than it had in awhile. It was unfortunate that under the table, his hands shook with need.

After another moment, Hilde slammed her fist on the table, startling the group. “We need to close this case!” she cried. Heero looked at Hilde, then shifted his gaze to Relena. She had small smile on her lips. “We should just go to the circus performance tomorrow and confront whoever needs confronting!” 

Duo chuckled nervously and laid a hand on Hilde’s shoulder. “It’s not that easy, doll,” he said. 

“Isn’t it?” Heero asked, his mind pondering the idea. Surely the siblings wouldn’t try to attack a couple of spectators of the show. And if Une happens to be around, seeing Relena will perhaps put some pressure on her - maybe pause whatever it is she’s doing. “Let’s do it.” 

“Are you serious?” Wufei asked. 

“Yes. It’s not fool-proof, but we might be able to put some pressure on Une if she sees us all there,” Heero said. A bit of excitement, save for Wufei, trickled around the circle. 

“I’ll buy the tickets,” Relena offered. “I’d like to see that woman try to throw a knife at me this time.”


	13. Chapter 13

Wednesday  
6:00 pm

Heero wasn’t overly excited about the idea that all of his little group would be joining him at the circus. While it seems innocuous, as just a fun way to spend an evening, he couldn’t stop the feeling that they were in danger. The previous night, he felt sure that the siblings wouldn’t do anything to them while surrounded by people, but when Heero woke the next morning, he was caught in a spiral of thoughts which eventually led him to believe that perhaps they would try to finish their attempts at killing his friends. Whatever the night had in store, Heero was certain that it wasn’t a safe place for Hilde, Relena, and maybe even Duo and Wufei. It was something he would have preferred to do alone. 

As it was, he was following the group through the maze of tents, stopping at sideshows and food vendors. Duo, Hilde, and Relena played the parts of regular spectators well - it was Wufei and Heero bringing up the rear with scowls on their faces that kept drawing attention from other people. He was receiving dark looks from mothers, who pulled their children closer to their sides as they passed by. 

On their way to the big top, Relena slowed her pace until she was walking beside Heero. “You need to at least fake it a little,” she said. Heero glanced at her, a frown still on his face. “Have you… have you been drinking?” His stomach tightened. 

“Yes.” She looked a little crestfallen, and Heero’s stomach tightened further. “My hands were shaking so bad, I couldn’t shave.” He reached up and brushed the stubble on his cheeks and chin, as if to emphasize his point. 

“I suppose it might be bad to try and stop all at once,” Relena admitted. “At least without medical help.” Heero nodded to placate her. Instead of speaking more, Relena slipped her arm through his and pulled him along beside her. “At least pretend to have fun.” 

“I’ll try,” he said. For you, he added to himself. Taking a breath and releasing it slowly, he tried to muster up as much positive energy as he could, just to make it through the next few hours. 

Later, Heero recognized the ringmaster, Thomas, standing on a platform in front of the big top. He was shouting out to the crowd, gently urging everyone to go inside the tent and find their seats, for the ‘most spectacular show you’ll ever hope to see.’ Heero felt Relena tug him in that direction, but he resisted, something nagging at him to not enter the big top just yet. 

“Wait,” he whispered to Relena, and grabbed her arm to stop her. She glanced at him, concern on her face. 

“What is it?” 

Instead of answering, Heero pulled her to the side, around a small tent that was boasting “accurate tarot readings.” He slipped around the other side of the tent, and Relena peered over his shoulder. 

“What’s wrong?” 

“Look.” 

Heero pointed to a woman in the distance who was hovering near the big top, flipping through a little date book. “It’s Une,” Relena whispered. “Why would she show up here?” 

“Good question,” Heero said. He narrowed his eyes at the woman, a deep frown on his face. “Come on. She’ll recognize you, but I don’t know if she’ll remember me and the others.” They walked out from around the tent and down the worn dirt path towards the big top. Near the entrance, they saw the others waiting, apparently scanning the crowd for their missing group members. 

“Where’d you go?” Duo asked when Heero and Relena joined them once again. 

“Une is here,” Heero said, leaning in close. Wufei and Duo looked startled, and Heero pointed towards where Une was standing. Luckily, she had turned away and was talking to someone else in a dark suit. 

“Who is that?” Wufei asked. 

“That’s her driver,” Relena said. “Maybe she’ll leave.” 

The man in the dark suit turned away from Une and disappeared, while Une turned towards the big top. 

“No such luck,” Duo commented. Heero gave the group a gentle nudge in the direction of the big top entrance. They turned and passed through the open tent flaps, into the dimly lit tent. Some of the stands were already filled with people - mostly couples and families with small children. Several groups of teenagers were sprawled along the top most row of the stands, laughing and throwing popcorn at each other. Heero led the group towards a shadowed corner of the stands. They took their seats. 

While Duo, Hilde, and Relena talked, Heero and Wufei kept their laser focus on the rest of the tent. It was Wufei who nudged Heero when Une entered the tent and sat down, alone, in the front row of the stands, off to the side. 

“Maybe she’s meeting with those circus freaks after the show,” Wufei suggested. “Though I can’t see why she would wait around. Doesn’t seem like the type.” 

“I agree,” Heero replied. He was staring hard at Une, wishing he could read her mind. But she just patted her hair and glanced around the tent. For a brief, terrifying moment, Heero thought that Une spotted him and recognized him. Her eyes flashed, but then her gaze had moved on to the teenagers in the stands, and a scowl formed on her face. A crawling feeling coursed over Heero’s skin.

Thinking he had gotten away with not being recognized by her, he turned away towards the others to listen to their conversation. He didn’t see that Une rose from her seat and casually walked out of the tent, only to return minutes later. 

When the lights in the big top dimmed, the crowd hushed, broken only by the shouting laughter of the teenagers. A single spotlight appeared in the middle of the ring, lighting up the ringmaster, who was dressed in white pants and a red coat, with a very tall black hat on his head. He spread his arms wide and looked up at the audience, smiling. 

“Welcome, boys and girls, to the most fantastic show this side of the Mississippi! Tonight, you will see feats that will defy what you thought you knew about the human body - you’ll see fire consume but leave no mark, and knives pierce without drawing blood. If you didn’t believe in magic before, my friends, you will believe before the night is through!” 

The spotlight went out, and an explosion of flame appeared where he’d been standing. When the lights in the tent came back up, the ringmaster was gone, replaced by a monkey, wearing the same outfit, down to the white pants. The monkey looked around confused for a moment, then hopped off into the shadows, leaving the audience laughing. 

Heero tried to unclench his fists, which he hadn’t realized were balled up tightly on his knees. Beside him, Relena leaned gently into his arm. He glanced at her, and she met his gaze, smiling. 

The show progressed, each trick stranger than the last, each appearing to defy the laws of nature. In spite of himself, Heero became caught up in the spectacle, gasping and clapping along with the rest of the audience. A thought occurred to him - that if the show was this amazing, why was the circus failing? He ignored the thought for the time being. 

After many different tricks, the lights went out again in the tent for a moment. When they came back on, it was to reveal that Catherine and Trowa, the circus siblings, had taken the stage. Catherine was standing in the middle of the ring on a tall podium, while Trowa was hanging upside down from his feet on a long bungee cord. He was swaying slightly, moving his body to give himself some swing. 

The band off to the side began to play a strange song in a minor key. The crowd fell silent as they watched Trowa gain speed on his bungee, all while Catherine watched. Heero didn’t notice before, but he saw now that both her hands held several sharp daggers, nestled between each finger. As Trowa moved faster and faster, Catherine raised her arms above her head, brandishing her knives. The crowd made a noise of surprise. 

No one expected the first trick. As Trowa spun around above her head, Catherine shifted one knife between her thumb and fore finger, and let the knife fly. It arced up into the air, and the audience gasped. A few people screamed, until Trowa passed by on his bungee and caught the knife. 

Between his teeth. 

The crowd erupted in cheers. Trowa dropped the knife to the ground, where it pierced the dirt floor. Catherine took aim with her next knife. She let loose two, one right after the other, all appearing to be aimed into the audience, until they were caught by Trowa. The crowd was cheering, partially in amazement and partially in fear.

Catherine spun around during the tricks, like a compass deciding where to stop. She turned and stared into the crowd, as if she were searching for something. Heero’s hands clenched back up on his knees. Her gaze was a little too close to where they were sitting. 

Catherine flicked her knife around, tossing it in the air and catching it again, the blade between her fingers. Trowa continued to spin. She took aim, twisted a few times, changing directions, until she twisted back towards Heero and his friends, and in a blur of motion, released the knife from between her fingers. 

It only took Heero a split second before he realized that this knife wasn’t intended to be caught by Trowa. 

The audience shouted with delight, thinking that Trowa would pass by again at the last second, to catch the knife before it entered the stands. Something gripped at Heero’s chest, and he ducked down in his seat, pushing Relena down with him, just as the knife passed by where his chest had been, piercing through the fabric of the tent and landing somewhere outside. 

Silence sharply fell as some stared at Catherine, while others stared at Heero. He lifted himself back up, releasing Relena as he did so, and stared into the frustrated eyes of Catherine. Trowa was upright against his bungee cord, holding on while his motion slowed. 

The audience around him began to scream and move out of the way, as if the area was now tainted. Heero could hear his friends asking him if he was alright, but their words passed through his mind and disappeared. He was still staring down Catherine, who was glaring back at him with her strangely colored blue eyes. The ringmaster was making his way out into the center of the ring, trying to calm the crowd. Catherine’s gaze shifted quickly towards where Une had been sitting, and Heero followed. She was staring at Heero and Relena, her expression dark. Then she rose up and fled from the tent. 

Catherine turned to follow Une, while Trowa released himself from the bungee and somersaulted through the air until he landed on his feet on the ground. The siblings took off through the tent and out through the flaps. The ringmaster continued to shout over the confusion of the crowd. 

Heero ignored them all, jumped to his feet, and followed Catherine and Trowa. He could hear the others behind him scrambling to their feet and following behind. 

Heero ran as fast as he could, dodging around people and bursting through the tent flaps. He spotted Catherine and Trowa running through the crowd, paying little attention to who they knocked over. They were easy to spot - their flamboyant costumes reflected glittering light, and stood out starkly against the drab colored clothes of the rest of the crowd. 

He was just about to catch up when they turned sharply, sprinting through two tents. Heero following, sliding a bit on the ground. He had to jump to keep from tripping over the tie-lines and metal stakes that were holding the tents up. He heard Relena shout at him from behind, but he ignored her and kept running. 

Une was up ahead, standing beside a waiting car. When she saw that Catherine and Trowa were being followed, she turned and jumped into the backseat of her car, slammed the door shut, and the car pealed out, kicking up dirt and rocks. 

This betrayal stunned Catherine and Trowa for a moment. They both slowed to a stop, watching their escape drive away through the other parked cars. Wufei appeared at Heero’s side and together, they tackled Catherine and Trowa to the ground.


	14. Chapter 14

_Wednesday_   
_9:30 PM_

Catherine, Trowa, and the ringmaster has been brought into the nearby police precinct for questioning. It was standard for a police officer to be near the circus whenever it was open, to keep the peace in case anyone should become too drunk and disorderly. It had hardly occurred to the young, green officer that he’d have to deal with an attempted murder. Heero watched the officer follow his superior around the office like a puppy, all wide eyed and jumpy.

Heero had already given his statement to the police, along with Relena and the others. He then sent everyone home, or at least to Duo’s apartment, which was closer, to wait for him. It was obvious the police didn’t like so many people hanging around. They let Heero stay out of courtesy. Before Relena left with the others, she’d kissed his cheek and told him to be careful.

Even while watching another officer question Catherine, Heer could still feel the kiss. It was just a little distracting.

The ringmaster had quickly admitted that he had no idea why Catherine would intentionally throw her knife at someone. She and Trowa had been part of circuses and other shows for their entire lives, and rarely ever made mistakes. He admitted to knowing Heero and helping him with the murders of Bartok and Dorothy Bocharov, but he hadn’t known that Heero was in the audience that night. Even to Heero, it was clear the ringmaster was clueless and innocent.

As for the other two, they stonewalled as long as possible, until the officers changed their tactics, providing information that even Heero hadn’t known.

Through the one-way glass, Heero watched the office inside pulled a plastic bag from his pocket and unfurl it. He held the bag up to the light, which revealed a few strands of hair that were the same red-brown as Catherine’s.

“These were found on the body of Dorothy Catalonia-Bocharov,” the officer said. Heero’s mouth fell open, and he quickly pulled his notebook from his pocket and flipped back to the page he’d written after Dorothy’s body had been found. Heero had… assumed that the police were going to botch the entire investigation 

“There’s no proof those are mine,” she said, crossing her arms over her chest. The officer shook his head.

“I’m fairly certain that we can match the hairs from one taken from your head right now,” the officer said. “Our forensic officer is quite good.” He paused, staring her down. “Not to mention the stab wounds that I believe will be consistent with those fancy daggers you like tossing around so much.”

Heero saw Catherine’s face pale slightly. But Heero didn’t think she was scared. Catherine knew she’d been caught, but Heero also knew that she had been hired for these jobs. And he suspected that Une had seen him in the big top, and ordered Catherine to kill him. Even Heero had been surprised at his own reflexes in dodging the flying knife. Heero watched Catherine stare at the officer, her expression changing between stubbornness, guilt, and defeat.

In the next interrogation room over, Trowa was still sitting silently in his chair, arms crossed, while the officer asked question after question, and each went unanswered. It was clear the officer was getting frustrated, but all his attempts at intimidation failed 

But luckily for the police and unlucky for Trowa, Catherine was the talkative sibling.

With her arms crossed over her chest, Catherine told their tale.

“Trowa and I joined Bocharov’s several years ago. For the first few years, everything was normal. It’s not a great show, but shows that pay well are scarce these days. It was about a year ago that we were approached by Lady Aria-Une Dioli.She sent us a message after a show one evening to meet her at a nearby restaurant. We had already heard the name before, so we knew she was part of that family. She asked us outright if we’d be willing to take on some special assignments. Honestly, we couldn’t pass up the money she offered.” Here, Catherine paused and averted her eyes, as if trying to make up her mind about something. She sighed. “We killed three people. The first one was a man that Aria-Une had been having an affair with - he threatened to tell her husband unless she paid him a lot of money, so she asked us to kill him. The other two - well you know. We were supposed to kill Relena Peacecraft, but I missed. And Quatre Winner - he was killed by Aria-Une herself.”

Heero lifted his eyebrows. A bad feeling began to crawl over his skin. He glanced away from Catherine at the other gathered officers. No one was paying much attention to him. Heero stepped away from the one-way glass and walked through the hall of the police station towards the front door. In the lobby, Heero veered towards the bank of payphones He dialed the number for Duo’s apartment and waited.

Duo answered.

“How’s it going?” Duo asked.

“We know for sure Une is behind all this,” Heero said. “Is everyone still there?”

“Yeah.”

“Is Relena’s car still hanging around? I think her and I need to pay Une and Treize a visit,” Heero said. He heard Duo call to Relena and ask, and in the background, Relena answered in the affirmative. “I’ll be there soon.”

Heero hung up the phone and the coins he’d pushed into the machine clattered into the deposit box. The officer at the front desk barely acknowledged him as he walked out the front door of the police station.

* * *

 

_Wednesday_   
_11:45 pm_

Relena was on the sidewalk outside of Duo’s apartment building when Heero arrived on foot. Her black Cadillac was idling in the road, pulled up alongside the curb. She looked as nervous as Heero felt.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised,” she commented when Heero approached. He nodded his head once. “But all those people?” She opened the door to the backseat of the car and slipped inside. Heero followed behind. After he closed the door and the car pulled from the curb, Heero glanced at Relena.

“She was the one who killed Quatre,” he said, his voice low, making an attempt to be comforting. As he expected, her face fell slightly, but there was a flash of anger in her gaze. “And she asked them to go after you, as well. It’s like she’s trying to get rid of anyone who might know anything.”

“Anything about what?” Relena asked, half distracted.

“She was having an affair, according to Catherine.” Relena looked surprised. So she hadn’t know about it, after all.

“Who was it?” Heero shrugged.

“Catherine didn’t say, but she did admit to killing the man Une was sleeping with.”

“What is Une doing?” Relena asked, turning to look out the window. “These people - they’re not related at all! What would Dorothy and Bartok have to do with her own affair?”

“I can’t figure that out either,” Heero said. “That’s why we’re confronting her.” Relena glanced out the window of the car, her fingers twisting in her lap. Heero laid his hand over hers, to stop the nervous energy.

“You don’t have to come along, if you don’t want to,” he said. When she looked back at him, there was fire in her eyes.

“I want to be there. I have to be there,” she said.

As soon as Relena’s Cadillac pulled into the circular drive of the compound, Relena had her hands on the handle, trying to get out of the car before it came to a complete stop. “What’s wrong?” Heero asked, trying to stop her.

“I have a bad feeling. Something is wrong,” she said, forcing the door open and stumbling onto the drive. Heero crawled after her, and the driver glanced out the window, concern written on his face. Heero rushed to keep up with Relena as she ran around the car and up the steps to the front door. She burst her way in, not waiting for the two burly guards to open the door for her. Heero slowed for just a moment, then hurried past them to keep up with Relena.

“Relena, wait!” Heero cried. “Don’t just rush in anywhere!” Relena either didn’t hear him or was choosing to ignore him. Her blonde hair flashed around a corner and through a doorway. Heero collided into her back when he slid around the corner on the wood floors.

“No.”

Over her shoulder, Heero saw Une standing behind Treize’s desk in the room he’d been several times before. Une’s hair was wild, the look in her eye something inhuman and animalistic, a bloody knife clenched tightly in her hand. At the sound of Relena’s voice, her head snapped up. A sinister grin spread over her face.

“He’s dead, just as he deserves,” she said. Relena moved to rush into the room, but Heero held her back, pushing her body behind his. “And I’ll kill you, too.”

Une ran around the desk, her knife drawn back to strike. Heero stepped forward, his police training kicking in, and knocked the knife from her hand, grabbed her wrist and twisted her arm behind her back. He grabbed her other free arm and pushed her against a wall. She fought him, trying to free herself, to scratch him, to bite him. Relena was shouting over Une’s screeches, the sounds melding in Heero’s mind, nearly making him lose his concentration.

Another door to the room opened and the tall frame of Milliardo stepped inside. The expression on his face changed from business to terror when he saw the scene happening before his eyes.

“Milliardo! Help us!” Relena screamed. Millardo froze for a moment before he crossed the room in a few strides and took hold of Une, restraining her. Relena twisted out of the room, flying back towards the front of the house. Heero took a step back, his breath heaving in his chest. Somewhere outside of the house, the police sirens wailed.

 

* * *

 

_Thursday_   
_9:00 pm_

 

“So what happened?”

Heero drank his double whiskey, pushed the glass to the edge of the table, and signaled for another. Duo and Wufei sat at their usual table in the back of the bar, their own drinks in front of them.

“After the cops arrived, they took Une into custody. She’d stabbed Treize ten times in the neck and chest.” Wufei and Duo grimaced. “They let me listen to the confession, which wasn’t too hard to get out of her, but it was the craziest thing I’ve ever seen.” Duo and Wufei leaned forward.

“Really? What’d she say?” Wufei asked. Heero thought he was trying to seem less interested than he really was.

“They brought in some doctor to examine her, and he discovered that she has multiple personalities,” Heero said.

“What?!” Duo and Wufei both cried. “That’s crazy talk,” Wufei added. Heero shrugged his shoulders.

“The doctor said she has two personalities. One is Lady Une, who is a kind, gentle person, and a personality that calls herself Colonel Une, who is evil and manipulative. Colonel Une planned to have those people killed,” Heero said. “Apparently Lady Une is appalled by what her other personality has done.”

“Sounds like a load of shit,” Wufei said.

“I gotta agree with Wufei this time,” Duo said.

“I’m just telling you what they told me. Doesn’t mean I believe it. Anyway, Colonel Une refused to tell the police anything, but then Lady Une appeared and told them everything. Apparently… the personalities can have conversations with each other….?” Heero was skeptical about this. He didn’t bother asking the doctor for clarification. “But this was her story: Treize, Une, and the rest of the Dioli high-ranking family members crossed paths with Mr. Bocharov all the time. He was always flaunting his money and making other people in their social circles angry. When Bocharov brought Dorothy Catalonia back from Europe, she started taking up with Treize. That made Une mad. She kept trying to tell Bocharov to control his wife, but he wouldn’t do anything about it. Eventually, Une caught Treize and Dorothy having an affair.”

Wufei and Duo snorted into their drinks.

“Une couldn’t do anything about Treize - she was suspicious that her father cared more for him than her - so she decided to take revenge on everyone else. She hired those circus performers after seeing Catherine’s knife throwing act. Like Catherine said, they weren’t going to pass on the money Une was offering.”

“But what about Quatre Winner? What did he have to do with anything?” Wufei asked.

“She admitted to killing him herself, but she didn’t say why. He’d also had an affair with Dorothy. Just speculation, but I’d guess she killed him on principal,” Heero said.

“Poor guy,” Duo lamented.

“The police are still investigating, but I gave them my statement. They’ll just have to collect enough evidence to put her away for a while,” Heero said.

“Somehow, none of this is very surprising,” Duo said, and Heero and Wufei bobbed their heads in agreement. “Except for the multiple personalities.”

“It’s probably just a ploy to get an insanity plea or something,” Wufei suggested.

“When Relena heard about it, she claimed it made sense,” Heero said. “Une had always behaved strangely, and sometimes completely different from day to day.” Wufei grunted, a sign he wasn’t convinced.

Duo threw back the rest of his drink, rose from his chair, and tossed a few bucks on the table. “Well, I’ll see you squares around. I have a date with Hilde,” he said, winking. Wufei and Heero waved goodbye and Duo strode from the bar.

“I’m gone, too,” Wufei said, also tossing a few bills on the table. Heero mumbled a goodbye as Wufei left the bar. Heero leaned onto the table, holding his whiskey glass, his mind replaying the events of the past few weeks.

* * *

 

_Sunday_   
_12:00 pm_

 Heero locked the door to his office and trotted up the steps to the sidewalk. He had a pint in his pocket and was planning on buying a sandwich from a deli and consuming the two for lunch. He was lost in thought walking down the sidewalk when he heard his name.

“Heero! Wait!”

He paused and looked up. He heard footsteps behind him, and a moment later, Relena appeared. She wore a large sunhat to block the rays of the sun and was dressed in a blazer and long skirt.

“Relena.” Heero said. “I haven’t seen you around.” She sighed and tilted her head.

“I know. We have been trying to clean up Une’s mess. Milliardo is temporarily taking over while we figure out what to do next,” she said. “All activities are on hold. Nothing like this has never happened in the Dioli family.”

“So nothing happened with the policing coming into the house?” Heero asked. A sly grin formed on Relena’s lips.

“The chief of police is one of ours,” she said. Heero smiled and shook his head. Of course. “That’s actually want I wanted to talk to you about.”

“Huh?”

“We think you could be useful within the Dioli family,” she said, her hands and fingers nervously twisting around each other. “But… there’s one problem that they’re fairly strict about.” Heero raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. He had a feeling he knew what it was. “If you did want to join us, and the offer is there, you’d have to get clean.” 

“Get clean?”

“They don’t tolerate any behavior that impairs judgement,” she said. “But this could be a good opportunity for you, if you wanted to take it. We could get you back in the police force, or you could do some other work. Milliardo likes you.”

Heero stared at her, knowing that she meant well, but she didn’t understand his inner turmoil that led him to become so dependant on his whiskey. Though, a small part of his mind did nudge him, suggesting that maybe it was time to crawl out of that dependency hole. Even Duo and Wufei only drank for fun.

“I don’t know, Relena,” he finally said. “I don’t know if I can do it.”

Her face fell, and Heero’s chest tightened.

“Oh, alright,” she said. Heero seriously hoped those weren’t tears in her eyes. “Well, you know how to contact me, if you ever change your mind.” She stepped around him and walked away, her shoes clicking on the sidewalk in a hurried tempo. Heero glanced over his shoulder and saw the black Cadillac sidle up to the curb. Relena threw open the door and slipped side, and a moment later, she was gone.

Heero sighed. He turned back around and continued walking to the deli to pick up lunch.

* * *

 

END

Don't hate me. Hate the genre. <3


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